Deception Point
by Arlesanna
Summary: Is Alec the one responsible for the separation? Is Cal still hung up on his ex? Is Gillian really such a good girl? Depends on the point of view. Literally. set before "sacrifice", spoilers for sacrifice
1. Chapter 1

Intro

By the way he did get out of Zoe's house without Emily seeing him. He and his ex-wife both knew it was the last time for them. Her new marriage meant an actual end of them, a full stop, it was the finalization of their separation, much more tangible than the divorce itself. Zoe knew it was fear sex. She was afraid to make the next step, he was afraid to accept her moving on. She knew it all, but for one thing. For Cal it was also an angry sex. He let out all his pent up emotions: anger, guilt, frustration even passion. What Zoe didn't know was that he felt it all. For another woman.

***

**The chapter in which Lightman gets a new case and we learn that Gillian has a secret.**

That morning she was in his office again.

_"Bloody Hell, this woman is like a freakin' curse"_ - thought Cal. Turned out she wanted his help again. That was what she said, while her eyebrows and corner of her mouth said: "My office made me come to you and I hate it but I'm here and asking you for help like it was my idea and it's killing me" Cal hated that her eyebrows and lip corners were so talkative. He knew her every expression and could read her like a book, but now when "they" had finally ended he felt like he had no right to do that anymore. The case was a nasty one: a young woman named Carla Lawrens was abducted shortly after her wedding. The whole family was sticken by shock. Luckily they didn't just pay the money but decided to investigate the case. The family wasn't too rich, but the girl had a huge trust fund of 1 million dollars coming from her grandparents which she could only have access to after she had gotten married. Very few people knew about it, namely her parents, the groom, her elder sister Daisy, her best friend Margareth and her best gay friend Johny. Oh, and her dance partner Rodrigo de la Renta. Apparently Carla was a professional dancer. The ransom was exactly 1 million bucks so her family believed someone who knew about the trust fund had commited the crime. The tape was sent to them as a proof that Carla was alive. There was absolutely no evidence, and the only people who knew about the fund were all investigated by the DoD with zero result. It was high tme to ask for Lightman's help. He ensured Zoe he would take the case and was walking her out of the office when something extraordinary happened.

Alec stormed out of Gillian's office, anger written all over his face. His wife followed him and put her hand on his shoulder. He shook it off abruptly, turned to face her and spat:

"You're the freaking shrink, figure it out!"

Her eyes were flaring. Anger. Then Cal saw Gillian look down and away. Guilt. Shame. Her "I will, I promise" was barely audible even though Cal and Zoe were standing nearby. Cal saw Alec's anger subside and turn into defeat as he walked away, nodding to him in a "hi-bye" fashion.

"Trouble in paradise?" Zoe's remark sounded bitter and was really uncalled for. She studied Gillian's form arrogantly, her body tensed like she was a predator getting ready to attack. 0:1

"You could say that" Gillian was too good to be true. Cal felt proud. Her sadness and openness were so evident and so sincere that he was the only one who caught the glint of _"I_ accept the challenge" in her blue eyes. And she won. Zoe's shoulder's slumped, she fiddled with her bracelet and her face was showing compassion. 1:0 (Cal deducted 1 point from Zoe because her remark portrayed her as a total bitch now)

"I'm sorry" came her sincere reply and it was clear to both Cal and Gillian that she felt like she had been mean to the other woman and regretted her gloating. 2:0 Her apology was accepted with a curt nod from Gillian, a kind of nod that said "ok, you didn't have to be such a bitch to me though". Zoe hurried to leave the office, quickly coming up with a fresh lie about some important appointments and two partners were left alone 3:0

Cal smiled proudly at Gillian and beamed: "Come on Foster, we have a case!" She followed him into his office, amused smile playing on her lips.

_"What the hell does she feel guilty about?"_ - Cal couldn't get the question out of his head for the rest of the day.

***

**Next up: The chapter in which Cal is being a bad boy and we meet Rodrigo de la Renta.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The chapter in which Cal is being a bad boy and we meet Rodrigo de la Renta.**

Two days has passed since they got the case. Investigating it was so much fun. Turned out Carla's father could have been Locker's brother in radical honesty while her mother was a patalogycal liar and a very bad one. Cal was almost in love with her. She tried hard to be precise while talking to her daughter but any other subject resulted in a fountain of lies. And she was so charming when she would get caught up in one of her weird stories and then realise it stopped making sense a while ago and she would smile and say:

"Sorry, got carried away... Where were we?"

Cal couldn't get enough of her. There was nothing special about Carla's friends and family - all of them were genuinely worried about her and all of them were telling the truth. Well, almost all of them. The gay friend Johny turned out to be... straight. And the husband James showed a lot of anxiety talking about his wife's dance partner. Rodrigo de la Renta was the only one Cal had yet to talk to. He and Gillian were to investigate him.

Gillian. Cal smiled inwardly. In those past few days he had misbehaved. He desperately wanted to know what was going on with Alec and not being able to ask her because of "the line" he had to do some spying on her. He found out that:

1. There was still a problem

2. Gillian stayed later than usual in the office. Like the day before she could have gone home but she stayed to do paperwork. Gillian abhored paperwork.

3. Gillian was avoiding her husband (look up #2)

4. Gillian tried not to think much about "the problem"

5. When she did think about it she looked ashamed and guilty but justified. Like she stole an ice-cream that she had previously been entitled to.

As much as he tried Cal couldn't understand what was going on. Yet.

Today she was wearing a very tight-fitting red dress and was absolutely stunning. He found Gillian in her office thinking about "the problem" and motioned for her to follow him:

"De la Renta here, time to get to work! And put that thing out of your mouth, you're embarassing me."

Gillian reluctantly got rid of a cherry lollypop and shot Cal a dirty look: "You'll pay for that."

"I sure will", he smiled at her, "but later. Now tell me about our guy."

"Rodrigo de la Renta, 27. Professional Dancer,has been Carla's partner for 10 years. Everyone in the family loves him, except for the husband who is intimidated by him. The rest is in the file. Here. Nothing special, really."

"Ok, we'll see now. Torres, how is he?"

Slight pause, "Fine, seems ok, Sadness for the girl, no anxiety." Ria was averting her eyes desperately trying to hide something from Cal. He decided no to push it and greeted Zoe who was standing by the entrance to the cube.

"Let's go Cal, he's waiting for us." Zoe said impatiently. Cal shot Gillian a confused look and knowing they were supposed to interview the guy together already opened his mouth to tell Zoe about it when Gillian smiled like a very good girl and sweetly said:

"You go ahead, I'll monitor him from here."

"You sure?" Cal said apologetically

"Positive" Gillian flashed him a slightly annoyed smile. "Have fun!"

"Ok" Cal felt better now. Annoyed was better than angry or sad.

He and Zoe entered the cube.

_"No wonder the girl's husband is intimidated by him"_ thought Cal. Rodrigo de la Renta turned out to be a tall handsome man dressed in a very expensive suit. He was that exact type that women couldn't resist: broad shoulders, dark eyes, confident air about him. A predator. He was very relaxed, no signs of anxiety whatsoever.

"Hello, I'm Cal Lightman and this is Zoe Landau. We want to talk about Carla."

_"Sadness."_

"If I can help in any way. What do you want to know?"

Zoe started interrogating him:

"When did you last see Carla?"

"At the wedding reception. She and James took of for their wedding trip right after the ceremony."

"Ok. And did you know about the trust fund?"

"Yes, she mentioned it once. Said: "James must think I'm marrying him for my money" He smiled.

_"Geuine. Caring. Caring? Let's go that way"_

"What was your relationship with Carla?" - Cal butted in.

"I'm sorry?"

" Well were you two friends or maybe more than friends? Did you have an affair?" Cal kept his tone slighting and scornful on purpose carefully watching the man's reaction._ "Nosrtils flared - anger. He didn't sleep with her"_

"Of course not! She is like a sister to me." Rodrigo took a deep breath calming himself down. "I'm sorry for my temper. We are dance partners, best friends, nothing more. Besides, she's warm and funny and fuzzy, not my type" - he was back to his confident self.

Zoe smirked. "Who's your type than?"

"Her." Rodrigo motioned to the side, Cal and Zoe followed his gaze to where Gillian was standing watching the monitors.

"Her?" Cal asked, looking intently at Rodrigo

"Yes. Deep, intense and catlike. Her. And I am telling you this just so you know nothing happened between me and Carla."

Cal's gaze was still fixated on Gillian _"Catlike, huh? So true..."_ He smiled at Rodrigo: "Her name is Doctor Gillian Foster, she's a shrink and my partner."

"Partner? Than you must know how it is between partners, absolutely no sexual tension, is there?"

Cal couldn't help but stare at him with amused smile. He hated the guy. Rodrigo went on:

"Could she interrogate me?" He looked Cal in the eye and for a moment two men were staring each other down.

"No problem" said Gillian, entering the room, folder in her hands.

"Gillian..." Cal's tone was plain scary.

"Cal." - Hers was firm and soft. "I can handle it."

_"Did she just tell me to leave? Damn right she did."_

Cal smirked and got up from his chair, anger in his eyes.

"Let's go," he told Zoe and the two left the room. Gillian and Rodrigo were left alone.

***

**next up: The Chapter in which we find something out about Gillian.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:**

**Hi everyone!**

**thank you so much for the reviews! I never knew how inspiring that could be)))**

**And now i do and honestly every review alert made me squeal=)) so a total of 8 squeals from me within 2 or 3 days - and believe me, that means a lot of happiness!**

**I would also like to point out that none of the characters belongs to me (I guess i have to do that since everyone does)**

**I changed the formatting for the story to be more convenient for you to read. Now the dialogues are in "quotation marks" and Cal's persistent thinking is in "**_**italic". **_**I hope it will be better.**

**So, on to the story, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

*******

**The Chapter in which we find something out about Gillian.**

Cal walked out of the cube angrily. He didn't care that everyone in the room could see it, he would just say he faked it later. But in that exact moment he was completely and utterly outraged. There were few things that Cal really hated and not being in control was on the top of that list. He sprawled himself on the chair and stared at the monitors. _"How can that woman read romance novels and get high on lollipops and slushies and at the same time be so stubborn, impertinent, reckless..." _

"Now that was sweet. How nice that Gillian is here to **handle it for you**." - Zoe's sarcastic remark interrupted his angry thoughts. Cal looked up at here from where he was sitting and felt another wave of anger rising inside of him.

"Yeah, it is nice actually. That's why I love having her on my team. Because she is always **there **to handle stuff**.**"

"And I wasn't there, is that what you're saying?" He obviously struck a sour note.

"Exactly. It's not like it isn't true, is it?" He gave her a wry smile and stared her down. Zoe recognized it was one of those moments when he didn't control what he was saying trying to hurt her as bad as he could. Zoe averted his eyes and changed her tone:

"What exactly are you so angry about, Cal?" she said looking him in the eye.

Cal peferred not to answer and stared at the cube.

***

Gillian waited for Cal and Zoe to leave the room and approached Rodrigo. She stood at the side of the interrogation table and looked down at him, watching him carefully. He was looking up at her intently his eyes taking in every inch of her slim body clad in tight red dress. She didn't hesitate to check him out in an almost obscene manner herself, stopping when her eyes met his. She gave him a beguiling smile and turning away from him slowly circled the table, swaying her hips slightly, letting him enjoy the view, and sat oppsite him, her elbow on the back of the chair, her legs crossed provocatively and her blue eyes peering into his brown orbs. She studied his handsome face for a long moment: his pupils were dilated, his posture relaxed and a knowing and seductive half-smile played on his lips.

_"What the hell is she doing?" _thought Cal, both angry at her and fascinated by her gracefulness.

"He's very protective of you, isn't he?" Rodrigo broke the silence.

"Aren't you protective of your partner?" Gillian tilted her head slightly still looking him in the eyes, opened her folder and took out a pen.

"Well of course I am, but there is a line between us if you know what I mean." he replied distracted by the way she pressed the pen to her lips.

_"Does she always have to put everything in her mouth?"_

"Tell me about it" she was not looking at him, suddenly completly disinterested in him, focused on the documents in the folder.

"We don't mess with each other business or love life. We share stuff but to the limit we're comfortable with. That's it mostly. Don't you have that kind of line with Dr Lightman?" Rodrigo tried to win her attention back.

_"Yes we do! And it's driving me nuts because I have no idea what her problem is. Not that it's any of you business."_

Gillian's head shot up. She had a mischievous look on her face, and ignoring his question she asked in a low voice: "Have you ever crossed the line?"

"No. Never." Rodrigo's answer came too quickly and he gave a slight nod "yes" before shaking his head "no". He also showed a microexpression of anger, which didn't go unnoticed by Cal, but apparently Gillian missed it.

"When?" Gillian asked him calmly.

"I said I haven't." his eyes narrowed dangerously. He looked like a real predator now, all bristled up.

"You have a really short temper you know" Gillian said matter-of-factly.

"And you smell like cherries. Why is that?" Rodrigo leaned back in his chair regaining control.

"Cherry lollipop." Gillian smiled seductively, "So tell me, Rodrigo, you and Carla practice solo? No instructor?"

"No." Gillian felt that his denial was a little too forced. "You do know you're not supposed to say words like lollipop to a man unless you want to give him the wrong imression, don't you?" Rodrigo's grin grew wider and he resembled a cheshire cat now.

Gillian couldn't help but giggle. "You're deflecting. Good point though. Of course I'm not supposed to say "lollipop" because that would lead to you thinking about me licking it and sucking on it and according to Freud that could result in some kind of a sexual fantasy..." seeing surprise and amusement written all over his face she asked sweetly if something was wrong.

_"What's wrong? Keep talking like that and I'll show you what's wrong." _Cal was positevly shocked. He never knew she could talk dirty with such skill.

"Everything's fine. It's just there's a certain image in my head now and I really need to get rid of it and you're not helping much."

_"I'd be happy to help you. Probably helping you will involve chopping you head off. Or some other part of your body that clearly does all the thinking for you."_

"So no instructor? Never?" Gillian's tone was strictly proffesional now.

Rodrigo hesitated. "Well, there was an instructor. Ted Burns." Cal read contempt in his features but Gillian did not seem to notice that either. She asked him why they stopped working together, he gave her a lame reason that it didn't feel right and she settled for that.

_"Is she blind? Why is she missing all the signs? He crossed the line and he clearly hates Ted Burns. What the hell, Gillian? Get on with it! You can't really fall for that load of crap he;s feeding you!"_

""Thank you for your time, Rodrigo, I think we are done here" Gillian closed the folder and rose from her chair. Rodrigo stopped her, putting his hand on her arm

"Professionally, yes. Now could I ask you a personal question?"

Gillian seemed taken by surprise "Why not?" she answered looking up at him.

"Would you like to dance with me? I'll give you a dance lesson if you want."

Gillian fell silent and mused on how to answer that. "It will be free of charge - after all you've interrogated me for free" he added with a boyish and disarming grin.

"Now I simply cannot pass on that offer, can I? Gillian chuckled.

"Tomorrow at 3 pm? I'll e-mail you the adress. Wear high heels." And with that he left the cube, Gillian following him.

When Rodrigo was gone, Cal faced Gillian looking extremely furious.

"What the hell was that?" he asked silently, but Gillian felt like he was screaming at her.

"Cal..." she started but he refused to listen.

"You got nothing from him. Nothing! But for the private dance lesson. And that helps the case how? If you'd seen the anger and the contempt and pushed him about it you'd..."

"I'd still get nothing from him, Cal!" Gillian interrupted him, hating that he was scolding her in front of everyone, including Zoe. She knew he was too angry at her to care about others right now but it still hurt. "When I pushed him about breaking the line he withdrew immediately. And he was reluctant to talk about Ted Burns. You think I'm blind and didn't see his microexpressions?" the thought of him doubting her skills hurt even more, but Gillian tried to get herself together and went on. "I don't think that what he's hiding concerns the case, I feel this is some personal matter. However this case is pretty personal so this information might be crucial, but I'll have to make him trust me first."

"And how exactly are you going to get him to trust you? Cause back there you did everything but take your clothes off, is that the next base?" Cal knew he was crossing the line there but he couldn't help it. An emotion he would never admit to be jealousy was making his blood boil.

Gillian's mouth opened in shock and she stared at him wide-eyed."What exactly are you so angry about, Cal?" she asked him quietly and stormed out without waiting for an answer.

_"It's funny that I've already been asked this bloody question twice today and I still don't have the answer", _thought Cal when he felt Zoe looking at him fixedly.

"What?" he stared at her, annoyed.

"You know, what Cal, I simply can't believe you!" Zoe was clearly upset, her eyes were dark with emotion and she left abruptly as well before Cal could stop her.

"Get back to work!" he growled, noticing that everyone was staring at him.

That night as he lay awake in his bed he thought:

_"Catlike... So true... You may be many things, Doctor Gillian Foster, but you are definitely not a good girl."_

**Next up: The chapter in which great minds think alike, Locker compromises another one of his principles and Gillian discovers some unexpected truths.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: Thank you so much for reviewing)))**

**I decided to break the chapter down in two - I don't have much time cause I have to work on my thesis so I decided that I'd rather update more often with smaller pieces. **

**Enjoy=) and if u like it - let me know plz. makes me really happy.)**

**thanx)**

**The chapter in which great minds think alike.**

About an hour later Cal was sitting in his office deep in thought.

"_I have to bug the place. Video and audio surveillance. And no, not because I want to see Foster dancing in tights and heels. It will be a huge bonus though. She must look good in tights... Ok, how old am I now? I need to bug the place because... Well I have to see the guy's face right? In case he does open up to Gillian I need to see if he's lying. Right. That's a good reason. Reason #2: what if he's dangerous? The last time I let Foster take matters into her own hands she almost got abducted by a serial rapist! Right. That makes two good reasons. How do I bug the place if I don't know the address? He said he would e-mail it to Gillian. Do I tell Gillian? No way, she's furious with me as it is. I could wait till she's gone and check her e-mail... I could have Locker break into her account... Hmm doesn't feel right. If she finds out she will be pissed, and it won't be pretty considering she is pissed already. I could ask her randomly about the address... No, she'll know something's up immediately, Foster can read me like a book even if she doesn't believe it herself..."_

A knock on the door followed by Locker's head popping inside the room interrupted his musing.

"Hey boss, got a minute?"

"Yep, come on in" Lightman sat up in his chair, pretending to be all ears.

"I wanted you to take a look at this." Eli put several photos of a red headed girl in front of Cal.

"Carla's best friend Margareth?" Cal shot Eli a glance waiting for an explanation

"Yep. The girl who showed fear and shame during the interrogation." Eli took out a pen and pointed at several pictures. "Fear, shame, fear and... fear"

"Yeah but that's old news. We sorted it out yesterday, remember." Cal was impatient to find out what Locker had to say so he could go back to thinking about how to bug the place.

"Yeah. She confessed she was afraid because she asked Carla to lend her a huge amount and Carla refused her because she and her husband had already planned how to spend the money."

"So logically she was afraid we would find out about that and she would become the prime suspect." Cal was very much annoyed now, Locker was so slow at times. "What's your big news?"

"Here it comes. Could I..." Eli reached for the keyboard, pulling up some footage, a triumphant look on his face, "check this out."

The video showed Cal and Torres leaving the cube and Margareth following them. Eli zoomed in on her face. Cal saw a flicker of fear on the girl's face, a second later she let out a breath she was holding, her shoulders relaxed visibly.

"That's a lot of relief, don't you think?" Eli pointed out.

"Yes..." Cal was silent for a moment. "But it's not the relief that's important, it's fear. See how she's still showing fear after we've finished? Look, the relief is also mixed with fear."

"Does that mean she's being threatened? That she knows something?" Locker asked with agitation

"It might. Set up a meeting with her tomorrow." Locker nodded and headed for the door.

"Hey Locker..." Eli was already halfway through the door and peeped back in

"Yeah?"

"You're not as useless as I thought" There was a familiar flicker of pride in Cal's eyes. The flicker that always made Eli fell like a five-year old. Locker grinned happily and left the room.

Cal slumped in his seat.

"_How do I bug the place? I really want to bug the place. Wait, I need to. Want to or need to? Maybe both. Why do I want to bug the place so much? Oh, crap I forgot I don't have shrink powers. Have to ask Foster. You can't ask Foster, idiot. She'll kill you. Oh, right. Back to bugging the place. I need that address now." _

His phone rang. Looking at the caller ID Cal was surprised to find out it was Foster. _"She is in the next room for god's sake. Still mad at me. So childish"_

He picked the phone up hastily.

"Hey" Cal tried to sound casual.

"Cal, Rodrigo just sent me the address. It's Kensington Street 31, the dance studio is on the 6th floor, room #12."

"_Yes!"_

"Ok." Cal answered not sure where she was going with this.

"I want you to bug it" it took Cal a while to process her words _"What?"_

"What?" he couldn't help saying it out loud.

There was a pause, then he heard Gillian sigh.

"I want you to bug the place Cal. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it yourself"

"_yep, she's definitely pissed."_

"Fine. You sure?"

Cal heard Gillian's voice soften:

"Yes. I need you to watch him in case he leaks anything." She said, clearly touched by his concern. Cal loved it that she was so preceptive - he never needed to apologize to let her know he was sorry - she could always hear it in his voice. "And I don't want to be alone with him." She added shyly. Gillian didn't elaborate on why, but Cal knew already - after the attack she became apprehensive of working solo and Cal was more than happy about it – he had always found her too reckless.

"You got it luv, I'm calling Bruce now."

"Thank you, Cal. Say hi to Bruce Almighty for me, will you?" She chuckled and Cal couldn't help but smile at her comment.

"Promise. Bye, luv"

"Bye Cal"

Cal looked down at the phone in his hands and smiled happily

"_from impertinent to foxy, furious, childish, forgiving, blunt, shy and playful all within a span of three hours. And she's saying I'm not normal?"_

**Next up: The chapter in which Locker compromises another one of his principles and Gillian discovers some unexpected truths.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Thank you SO MUCH for all the reviews! They totally make my days =) Over 20 now! YAY! And yes, I do count them))) **

**So here's the new chapter and i had to split it again))) so we'll learn about the unexpected truths Gillian discovers a little bit later.**

**Here it is. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it)**

**ps. and there's a soundtrack for the chapter: **

**"Unwell" by Matchbox Twenty. **

**The chapter in which Loker compromises another one of his principles.**

_"What the hell?"_

It started in the early morning, a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach that wouldn't go away. It grew stronger as he drove to the office and as he exchanged "hellos" and "good mornings" with his staff. It remained there when he made some important calls, it didn't even leave him when he called Emily to check on her. He had no idea where this feeling came from until it hit him full force.

It happened when he entered her office only to find her getting ready for the so called dance lesson. Seeing her Cal stopped dead in his tracks. Gillian looked... Different. The words stunning or gorgeous or elegant that usually applied to her were useless now. Black tights outlined her slender legs, a tight-fitting black top clinging to her body didn't leave much for imagination either. The top was quite long and half-covered her perfectly shaped bottom. Black open-toed heels made her seem taller and even slimmer than she virtually was. Her hair was straight and silky and Cal immediately thought that she resembled a panther, smooth and lithe. Luckily for Cal she was talking on the phone when he entered so he had time to get himself together and the chance to watch her walk back and forth across the office, swaying her hips ever so slightly and pushing the occasional strand of hair out of her face.

_"She always does that when nervous... God, those tights look good..."_

She stopped cruising the room and stopped by the table, turning her side to him. One of her hands clutched the table and she was tapping her foot nervously. Cal woke up from his reverie hearing her utter hurriedly:

"Not now Alec, please! I promise we'll talk about it later" she threw her head back in annoyance as she listened to her husband's reply, then said:

"Listen I'm in a middle of something here and I'll call you later, ok?" she said, glancing at Cal as sadness ran through her features.

"Will you be ok?" the concern and care in her voice were almost tangible.

"Bye". She hung up and faced Cal, a smile ready to form on her lips.

"Hey" He grinned affectionately and a rush of warmness washed over him as he watched the smile being born in her eyes and growing on her lips.

That was the thing with Gillian - her genuine smiles always started in her eyes. Gillian was generally a happy person and smiled a lot, but being with her every day Cal learned to see those smiles being born as a mischievous twinkle or a flicker of amusement, tenderness, hope. Many of those smiles never touched her lips, repressed by other emotions or hidden carefully from the world by Gillian herself but Cal learned to distinguish them and it made him feel like he was being let in on a very private territory.

Seeing her smile he felt the horrible nagging feeling disappear and let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding all morning. That didn't go unnoticed.

"You ok? You seem tense." Gillian walked over to him and put her hand on his arm, stroking it slightly with her fingertips.

_"What shall I tell her? "I have this "feeling" in my gut that makes me nauseous and shaky and tense and I have no idea what it is but when you smile it is spooked?" So much for "I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell"..._

"I'm fine luv, are you leaving now?" he deflected.

"Yes, walk me to the car?" he nodded and she bent gracefully over the table to get her purse, her body outlined in perfect black against the sunny window.

_"Maybe she could wear this on a daily basis. I could make it a rule, I'm the boss after all..."_

_***_

"Dr. Lightman!" Loker's voice caught up with them as they were walking past his office. Loker himself turned up seconds later, looking somewhat disheveled as usual.

"I called Margareth and... Wow, Gillian you look blazing hot! That crap I told you about not going for married women – forget it. I definitely do now. The hell with karma" Loker's gaze was glued to Gillian's slender form and she gave him an annoyed look, not saying anything.

_"She always comes up with an answer to all my snide remarks and can't rebuff this idiot?" _Cal felt the urge to step up.

"Shut it, Loker. Eyes on me. Margareth?" Loker read an unconcealed warning in his eyes and backed off.

"She'll be here at 7 p.m." Loker stole another glance at Gillian, then met Cal's angry stare. "Alright... I guess I'll go..." He started walking backwards to his office "Really looking forward to watching you dance in **that**" He added teasingly and with that he was gone.

_"Moron. Eager to watch her dance in that? Don't even dream of it."_

Cal shook his head disapprovingly when Gillian burst unto giggles.

"I guess if Loker made a pass at me I'd be hysterical too. Maybe not in a funny way though..." Cal was smiling a little himself.

"Oh, it's not that..." Gillian was trying to contain her laughter as they walked lo the parking lot.

"What is it then?"

"You know... You really are very protective" - Gillian couldn't help giggling again. "You looked as though you were going to bite his head off" she shook her head in amusement.

_"Oh that's why she didn't say anything. Artfully lured me to make a fool of myself. Fox."_

"Of all the things I'd do for you, luv, that one would be the most unpleasant." he said in a serious tone.

"Why" - Gillian was clearly taken aback by his statement. Cal looked at her thoughtfully and explained:

"Well, with all the hair and stuff..." She stared at him, his words sinking in and in a moment they both burst out laughing.

"I'll be watching you luv" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder as she opened the car door.

"I know." He let go of her.

***

The moment she got into her car the feeling in his gut was back. He went back to the office and loafed his time away until it was almost three p.m.

_"Time to go watch Gillian dance with a hot young muscular spanish guy. Now isn't it fun?" _Cal entered the room, Loker and Torres already waiting for him there.

He came in unnoticed though.

The monitors showed a sunlit spacious studio with a huge mirror on one wall, light wooden floors and a huge panoramic window that reached the floor. _"Expensive place"_

Ria's eyes were glued to the screen where Rodrigo, clad in black loose pants and a black sleeveless shirt was doing some hip-hop routine.

"Man he's good" sighed Torres.

_"The way you say it sounds like "Man, he is hot" _Cal smiled inwardly.

Loker chuckled "I bet Gillian thinks so too. Wait and see the outfit - I'm telling you she is going for it."

"She is married and even if her husband is a lying jerk she'd never do that to him. That's Gillian for God's sake!" Ria's tone was somewhere in between irritated and nonchalant.

"Wait and see. Torres. Wait and see." Loker smirked. "And here she comes."

At this point Gillian showed up, stopping in the door and watching Rodrigo dance.

"Look, Torres. See the outfit? Too hot for words." Ria stared at the screen wide-eyed. Eli went on: "And now we'll enjoy the show...".

Cal finally decided to acknowledge his presence.

"Loker, I let Heidi go, would you take care of the phone calls for me? We'll be occupied here, considering..." Cal waived at the monitors.

"Why would you let Heidi go at 3 p.m.?"Loker simply couldn't believe it and didn't even try to hide his disappointment.

"Cause it's none of your **damn** business?" Cal raised his eyebrows staring the younger man down. Eli tried to stand up to Lightman but failed miserably, and left a room with a frustrated sigh.

Ria was silent as Cal fell into the empty seat in front of the monitors. One of the things she learned at Lightman group was not to cross Lightman when he was mad.

Cal hoped Ria would think he was mad and won't notice how tense he really was. The feeling in his stomach was growing stronger every moment as he watched Gillian's eyes follow Rodrigo's every move.

_"Nah, she fell for it completely. Sits there still as a mouse. Thinks I could go off any second. Good girl. So easy to fool, those naturals, think they know everything. Have to train her better. Later. Why the hell is Gillian looking at him like that?"_

**Next up: The chapter in which Gillian discovers some unexpected truths.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: Yay i did it!!!) So my thesis is almost ready and i'll try to update as soon as i can. Yesterday i got my 30th review and here's a new chapter to celebrate it! Thank you all SO MUCH!!! **

**And yes i do know it's a little AU and could never happen on the show but it's so much fun to write! Hope you like this one as much as i do!**

**And yet again there's a soundtrack as this one involves dancing. So almost obligatory.**

**1. "Teach me how to dance" by Che'Nelle**

**2. "Love ya" by Unklejam**

**Thank you all again for reading and reviewing!!! Enjoy)))**

**The Chapter in which Gillian discovers unexpected truths.**

In the meantime Rodrigo finished his routine and noticed Gillian leaning against the door.

"Hey there!" he greeted her with a smile. "You made it."

"Yes I did" Gillian entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Didn't know you were into that kind of music. This is a fabulous studio by the way" She said approaching him.

"Thank you. As for the music, I would say there are many things you don't know about me if it wasn't so cliche." Rodrigo checked her out, head to toe. "Judging by the outfit I can tell you know a little something about dancing."

"Maybe." Gillian smiled intriguingly. "Shall we start?"

"Yes. Sure if you're ready." Rodrigo grinned and walked over to the stereo to put on some music. "Apeñas llega y ya esta ardiendo de impaciencia de estar en mis manos..." he murmured to himself, looking at her teasingly.

_"You bet she wants to be in your arms, moron. By the way it's rude to speak to people in a language they cannot understand." _

"No te enagañes con esparanzas, estoy aquí para bailar. Como lo hemos acordado."

_"She speaks spanish? How come I don't know she speaks spanish?"_

"You speak spanish?" Rodrigo asked her over his shoulder, turning on the music.

"A little." She titled her head, looking at Rodrigo, and laughed softly hearing the intro words of the song:

"Could Ya Could Ya Could Ya Teach Me

Could Ya Could Ya Could Ya Teach Me

You take a lead"

She raised her eyebrows as he approached her slowly and circling her stood behind her, their bodies almost touching.

"Ok. So first - the stretching. Relax." Rodrigo took hold of her hands and lifted her arms up above her head. His hands left hers and traced the outline of her body. "Stretch." Gillian did as she was told, stretching like a cat. "Good. Now your arms to the side. Strain the muscles. Feels good?" Gillian nodded slightly, lost in the music as she continued to stretch her body. "The neck. Right. Now the hips."

_"God." _

"And now we move a little. Cha-cha steps. Right foot steps back on three. I got you. Ready?" Gillian nodded, smiling. She was clearly enjoying this.

"Ok. One two, three." They started moving in union, the rhythm steady, Rodrigo's hand on her hip. "You are good! Ok, give me a little more hips here. Good. I'm gonna spin you to the side now." he did and for a beat they were standing like that: Him holding her hand and her facing him, leaning back a little. Rodrigo flashed her an amused smile. "Come back here. Give me a catwalk." As she started walking towards him he walked back, so it looked like he was retreating and she was advancing towards him in a cat-mouse chase.

The feeling in Cal's gut was killing him. It was burning him from the inside now. _"So that's how a catwalk looks like..."_

Gillian completely missed the moment when Rodrigo stopped moving and pulled her into his arms, urging her to lean back the very next second and then pulling her up, one of his hands on the small of her back and the other one taking a hold of her own hand. He pulled her hips to his and swayed her on the spot, twirling them across the room afterwards. Gillian gave in to him completely, letting him lead her and they kept on dancing, smiling at each other, clearly having fun, their bodies almost touching, mimicking each other's movements.

Cal was feeling worse by the minute, almost unable to hide his feelings. Ria shot him a glance.

"She is really good. Did you know?" She asked him, amusement evident in her voice. Cal shook his head and kept staring on the screen.

The song ended, catching them in the middle of some move, Rodrigo swayed her some more and they stopped. He let go of Gillian reluctantly, smile in his eyes. "You do dancing don't you?" He asked her.

"I enjoy a good salsa night out" Gillian answered grinning at him. "I never knew it was possible to dance like that to this kind of music, though."

"You like it?" He handed her a bottle of water.

"Thanks." Gillian sipped at the water slowly, throwing her head back a little, exposing her throat. Cal saw Rodrigo staring at it as she was drinking. That didn't make him feel any better.

"Where is she taking this?" Ria asked in a small voice. "I mean, look. She is clearly leading him on. What's the point?"

_"That's what I'd like to know too"_

"Just watch. Gillian knows what she is doing." Cal shifted a little in his seat.

_"At least I hope so"_

"And do you?" the vocal stress in her voice went up, giving away the fact that she didn't believe that he knew about Foster's plan. _"Yeah, because you don't"_

"Watch." he growled and Ria turned her attention back to the screen.

"Yes. I do actually. It's... Refreshing" Gillian said, giving Rodrigo a sly smile.

"Are you talking about the music or the water?" Rodrigo came closer standing right in front of her now.

"Maybe both." Gillian shoved the bottle into his hands and backed away from him. "Shall we continue?"

"As you wish." Rodrigo turned the stereo back on, choosing a modern dancing song again.

_"Sounds a little like Prince. Is it even appropriate?" _Cal asked himself, watching the screens.

Rodrigo approached Gillian again and looked her in the eye as wrapped his arm around her slim waist.

"Up for some dirty dancing?"

She swayed her hips in response, biting her lip lightly and that was all it took. Rodrigo pulled her up to him brusquely, and smiled dangerously. Then a different kind of dance started. It had nothing to do with their previous piece. If Cal thought that one had been over the top, now he was stunned.

Their movements were slower and somewhat more deliberate. Rodrigo's hands rested on her hips constantly. There was a whole new intensity to the way their bodies were melting into each other, separated only by a thin layer of clothing. Rodrigo was grinding his hips against hers, letting her fall back and catching her, swaying her from side to side, pushing her away and pulling her to him again, swirling her so close that her hair was in his face.

Cal felt like he was peeping on them. _"That is clearly too much now." _Luckily Ria didn't dare to speak up again. If she did he could say something he would regret later.

"Oh my god, is that Gillian? Wow. She looks hot!" Emily's voice came from behind him totally unexpected.

"What are you doing here?" Cal turned away from the screen facing his daughter.

"School finished early. What's up with your face? You ok?" Emily's eyes went wide at her father's pained expression.

"Fantastic." Cal transformed his face into an image of tranquility for her but Emily didn't buy it and eyed him suspiciously. Then the screen had her attention again.

Rodrigo spun Gillian around, pressing her back to him, lifting her hands up, stretching her along his body. She didn't hesitate to rub against him in a catlike manner, her whole body caught up in the music. His hand went down across her belly and landed on her hip as he started pushing her forward, moving with her until she reached the wall and turned graciously to face him. He looked at her, primal hunger in his eyes as he put his hand flat on her stomach and pushed her lightly so that her back hit the wall. He was almost pressing against her and she was completely trapped. His eyes were fixed on hers and it was clear he was waiting on a sign from her to keep going.

Cal's eyed were glued to the monitors now, the feeling in his gut spreading to his whole body, his head spinning a little.

_"Stop. Do not do this."_

"Whatever is going on there I'm not sure I should be seeing this so I'd better go." Emily sounded embarrassed. Cal nodded curtly not tearing his eyes away from what seemed to be like a frozen picture on the screen. "Ok then." Emily shut the door quietly behind her.

It was a long moment of staring into each others eyes and then Gillian broke the connection, turning her head away from him. Rodrigo backed off immediately. The song came to a halt and they were standing there in silence, a considerable distance between them.

_"Thank God."_ Cal couldn't believe the relief he experienced in that moment. The feeling was still there but it seemed like the worst part of it was over.

Gillian was the first to move. She crossed the room, bending to get the water and drank some, clearly out of breath from their previous dance session. Rodrigo was standing still, watching her, a slight smile on his lips.

_"What are you smiling at? She clearly said no to you, don't even think about it." _

Gillian turned to him, determination in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." she said softly. "It's not like I don't want to, but you have to understand that I can't do this." She averted his eyes as he came close to her and lifted her chin with a light touch of his fingers, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"Hey. You don't have to lie to me, you know." She opened her mouth in protest but he went on before she could say anything "I might not be a lie detector, but I saw your eyes, right there. Those are the eyes of a woman so deeply in love with someone, that the mere thought of being with someone else seems impossible and inconceivable." A momentary sadness darkened his features as he said those words. Rodrigo brought Gillian's left hand to his lips, kissing it lightly, his eyes taking in her wedding ring. "That lucky bastard" He grinned infectiously and Gillian smiled back, genuinely and openly, the tension in the room dissolving quickly.

_"Why is she so shocked?" _Calcould see astonishment running through her features seconds before a relieved smile appeared on her face. _"Well, she and Alec were having problems... Ok now, that thought was so wrong. I want her to be happy and if she really loves him that much they're gonna be ok."_

"Why was she so surprised? Shocked". - Ria muttered to herself. "I mean he just told her he knew she was head over heels for her husband and so what? I don't get her." She threw up her hands admitting defeat.

_"Neither do I, luv, neither do I"_

"Hey Torres," Cal said calmly, hidden scorn in his voice. "We're here to watch him, so do your job and leave it alone. You can think about Foster's reactions in you free, that is unpaid time."

_"Now at least one of us is will actually be watching the guy"_

"Sorry, boss" Torres almost didn't lose her composure hearing his spiteful remark.

**Next up: The chapter in which some secrets are revealed over a slice of pizza.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: For some reason the latest chapter didn't impress you much (judging by the number of reviews). Well, i guess some are better than others even though i absolutely adore that one)) whatever) So here's what happens next. Hope you'll enjoy)**

**love ya all. )))**

**A.**

**The chapter in which some secrets are revealed over a slice of pizza.**

A knock on the door broke the comfortable silence in the sunlit room. Rodrigo headed for the door, shrugging his shoulders in reply to Gillian's questioning gaze. The cameras didn't show who was at the door, but the cheerful young voice saying: "Hot Pizza from Pizza House, the cheesiest Pizza in the world!" cleared it up. Rodrigo appeared in a second, two large boxes in his hands, his turn to shoot Gillian a questioning look. "The cheesiest pizza in the world?" he asked teasingly.

She smiled disarmingly, her eyes twinkling with laughter. "I ordered them in case you would be... sad" she shrugged her shoulders lightly, looking like a playful child caught red-handed.

"_She's never bought me pizza when she got me in trouble! Well, she brought me my favorite cheese crackers after she slapped me on the case... Does it count? No way, have to confront her on that one. Childish but might get me a pepperoni next time she takes on some "nutcase"._

Rodrigo burst out laughing. "You really are a little minx, aren't you?" Gillian faked embarrassment provoking another wave of laughter from him. "Ok now. I guess we'll have to use the floor as a table" he looked around the empty room.

"Fine by me" Gillian sat on the floor cross-legged, looking at the boxes impatiently. Rodrigo joined her with a chuckle and opened the first box. "Hawaiian? Seriously?" he asked incredulously, a teasing look in his eyes.

"_Thinking again, it's not that bad she's never bought me pizza. Hot pineapples covered in cheese... disgusting."_

"Why did I expect this reaction? Give it to me!" Gillian snatched the box away from Rodrigo, pouting her lips slightly and shooting him a dirty look.

"Now, I'm really apprehensive about this one." Rodrigo looked at the second box disapprovingly. Gillian smacked him lightly on the arm, busy trying to choose the best piece to start with.

"_Aren't they too friendly? How can she be so friendly with him just after several minutes together? The first time she laid her hands on me was about a year after we started working together. Not that I remember exactly... It was the day when I told her to stop eating chocolate in the office. She smacked me just like that, leaving chocolate fingerprints on my white shirt. Something like that."_

"What?" Rodrigo smiled defensively and opened his box. "Wow, pepperoni! Que bueno! Now that's what I call a pizza!" he grabbed the biggest piece and bit into it, savoring the taste. For a few moments they simply enjoyed their pizzas, sitting on the warm wooden floor of that sunlit room.

"How's the case going?" Rodrigo broke the comfortable silence, concern in his eyes.

Gillian sighed, "Not too well." She looked him in the eye her tone growing serious: "You want me to be straight with you?"

"Sure." Rodrigo put his pizza down, his posture clearly more tense then before.

"Well, it is not working out. There are only few people who knew about the trust fund. All of them seem fine, except for Carla's best friend Margareth who apparently needed money and asked Carla for it, she refused and that was it as we know. And then there is you. You know something and refuse to tell us. You feel contempt for your ex-instructor and you showed sadness when talking about me not being able to cheat on someone I'm in love with. And I have a feeling that sadness wasn't about me." She looked into his eyes intently. Rodrigo wasn't saying anything, and Cal could see an internal battle going in inside him.

"_You're doing real good, now just push him a little more"_ and Gillian did exactly that.

"I know it is something personal and maybe you feel it isn't important. But frankly this case is as personal as it can get and any information is crucial. I give you my word we will handle it with discretion. If you really want to help us find her you need to trust us. You need to trust me."

"God you're good, aren't you?" Rodrigo said quietly, not looking at her.

"_Yes she is."_

"Yes I am. And I can help Carla if you help me." Gillian reached for his arm tentatively.

"It's not my secret to tell." Rodrigo's determined gaze met her eyes. "Her husband must never know about this."

Gillian nodded not saying anything, encouraging him to continue. Rodrigo took a deep breath and started talking:

"Before the wedding Carla had doubts. Some people just do, it's not like she didn't love James or anything. She's such a young girl... I mean it was a big step for her. She was so happy when he proposed but as the wedding was nearing she became increasingly nervous about it, asking herself if it was the right decision, if she was ready for that... And that night, about a week before the wedding she called me. I was out of town for business so I couldn't be there for her."

"_Guilt" _

"I talked to her, I tried to tell her it was all going to be fine. That night I was really concerned abut her so I went back. I arrived in the morning and called her cell, but she wasn't answering. So I went to her house and found her on the floor, crying... She was a mess. Turned out she called Ted that night._"_

"_Anger"_

"Ted the ex-instructor?" Gillian asked carefully. Rodrigo nodded, and went on angrily.

"That son of a bitch. He's always had the hots for her. So he took her out to the club, got her drunk, took her home... I don't have to tell you the rest."

"She cheated on James." Gillian voice could barely be heard.

"Yes. When I found her she was devastated. She was shaking, almost not able to talk from too much crying. I did what I could for her - got her cleaned up, calmed her down a bit... But she felt empty as hell. She didn't think herself worthy of him anymore. Said she had to tell him, that she would cancel the wedding. I had to do something. I asked her how she felt about James, and she said she had no doubts anymore. Somehow betraying him she learned how much she really needed him, how afraid she was to lose him."

"So you told her to lie to him?" understanding could be heard in Gillian's voice.

"Yes, I told her that telling about the cheating only makes the cheater feel better. That if she loved him she should marry him and thank god she finally realized it was the only right thing to do, tat he was the one for her. It wasn't hard to persuade her. She loves him so much she couldn't bring herself to tell him. I never told this to anybody before."

"And did she?"

"I don't think so. But for what it's worth I know Ted had nothing to do with it. Make no mistake I hate him for being a rat and abusing the state she was in but he didn't really care about her - it was just a fling, so he wouldn't have abducted her out of passion. Money can't be the motive as well - the guy's quite well-off. And there's no way he could have know about the trust fund."

"_True, at least he believes in what he says"_

"Are you sure she didn't tell anyone else?" Gillian asked again.

"The only person she could have told about it is Margareth - the two are best friends..." the corner of Rodrigo's mouth went up a little when he mentioned the girl's name.

"_Contempt. Looks like we have a winner." _

"You don't like her very much, do you?" Gillian looked at him searchingly.

"No I don't. There's no good reason for that. I just don't. And I trust you. There is no good reason for that either, I just do." he gave her a little smile.

"You can trust me." Gillian smiled back at him reassuringly. "I gotta go now. Thank you. For everything." she said getting up.

"I had a good time today. Not as good as I hoped but still ok" Rodrigo was acting cocky again, a mischievous smile on his lips.

Gillian returned the smile, bowing her head a little, "I'm happy to have given you at least some pleasure..." they stood in the middle of the room for a moment just staring each other in the eye and then both burst out laughing.

"See ya!" Gillian said, leaving the studio.

Torres leant back in her chair, stretching the muscles stiff from sitting upright the whole time. Cal was silent, deep in thought, his fingers brushing his lips a little.

"Margareth will be here soon, but I really don't see any leads here" Ria sounded disappointed. Cal didn't answer, his mind clearly far away. The silence was getting to her and Ria decided to leave when he said calmly:

"Go out and get ready for her interrogation. You're going in with me and I don't want to hear "I don't see anything" from you ever again. There's always something there. Always." Somehow he managed not to sound scornful or mocking, in fact he sounded more like a mentor now. Ria nodded and left the room.

Cal sat there motionless for a while.

"_Should I?"_

He reached for his cell and looked at it thoughtfully, asking himself if it was his place to...

"_Oh, hell with it, how long have I known her? Of course it is my place!"_

He found the right name and pushed the dial button. She answered almost immediately, catching him off-guard, the oh-so-familiar and very tired voice saying:

"Hey Cal."

"Hey" suddenly he was lost for words.

"You wanted something?" he could distinguish a slight plea in her voice as if she was waiting for him to say something really important.

"Do you still have doubts?" he asked her, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

"What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled, the silence dangling between them for a moment.

"I mean do you still have doubts about Roger after what happened between us?" he felt bad bringing it up, but it was high time to dot the i's. He waited patiently for her to come up with the answer.

"No Cal, I don't. I guess what happened between us helped me understand what I should do and that I don't ever want to hurt him. It can never happen again." she sounded sad, but her voice was firm and suddenly Cal felt light, the feeling in the pit of his stomach gone completely.

"I know luv, I know." he found himself smiling slightly.

"Listen, I'm sorry if I used you in any way, trust me I didn't mean to. I'll always be there for you Cal..."

"_I guess that's what they call bright sadness"_

"So will I, luv. Take care." Cal didn't know how to put all his emotions into words, but for once she seemed to have read him perfectly.

"You know I will. Bye, Cal." he could almost see her smiling sadly, sitting in her office, tears forming in her eyes.

"Bye, luv."

**Next up: The chapter in which Cal is full of surprises.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I passed my last exam today and my thesis is finished! YAY! I'll have so much more time for the story now!**

**In case some of you have no clue who Roger is - he's Zoe's fiance. Hope it cleared things up)**

**A HUGE thank you to all the people who review=) Reviews are like a salary for a fic writer=) I guess I'm pretty well-off so far, thanks to you all=))**

**Hope you enjoy this one!**

**love**

**A.**

**The chapter in which Cal is full of surprises.**

Half an hour later Cal was in his office, the video of Carla, that was sent to her parents by the abductors, frozen on the screen. A concealed content smile could be distinguished in his face and if Gillian Foster was there she would say that he had just cracked some tricky case. And she would be absolutely right.

Ria Torres entered with a knock, her posture more relaxed than usual.

_"Seems the "mentor" idea really gets to her" _

"Do I need to bring Ted the ex-instructor in?" she stopped in the middle of the room unsure of what to do, staring at Cal plastered as usual in his chair.

"No need." she could see he was really happy about something.

"Why not? He even has a motive, she could have told him about the fund..."

"Nah," Cal interrupted her. "He had nothing to do with that. Look." He turned the video on.

"What do you see?" Cal watched her tense up a little, getting ready for another so-called test. Alert, she watched the video for several seconds. It showed Carla tied to the chair, black circles under her eyes. It was a typical abduction victim tape: she was saying she was ok and some voice in the background was citing the conditions of the deal.

"Nothing much." Ria said hesitantly, hoping that in this case "nothing" was the right answer.

"Wrong. Look again." Cal played the tape again, looking at Ria intently, tapping his fingers on the surface of the table impatiently.

She shook her head and looked at him obviously waiting for an explanation.

"Again!" Cal repeated angrily, replaying the tape. Ria's short temper played up immediately.

"I don't see anything here! There's nothing to see!" she exclaimed pointing to the screen.

For a few seconds Cal looked at her intently, making her shudder inside. It was clear she was prepping herself for an inevitable scolding from him. Cal popped himself up from the chair and in one swift motion approached her, looking her in the eye.

"There is something, it's the kind of thing that only I would notice as you said the other day. And I want **you** to see it. No matter how long it takes. Well actually we've got till seven pm." he said calmly, glancing at his watch. "try to take it all in. The room, the posture. The face. Everything. Try to find the flaws in it."

Ria looked at him in disbelief. Was her arrogant boss being patient with her?

Cal mistook her amusement for the lack of understanding and went on with a sigh._"The mentoring is harder than I thought, how dense can one natural be?"_

"It's like a game, luv. You know something's wrong, you just have to find out what. Ok?"

Ria's eyebrows went up. Now not only was he being patient, he was actually being nice to her.

"I guess I'll have to grab a chair" she said in a small voice, happy to take advantage of Cal being in the mood to virtually teach her something.

They settled in front of the screen. The video was on again. Ria's gaze was glued to the screen.

_"Is she meditating?"_

"Earth to Torres?"

"Huh?" she didn't take her eyes off the screen.

"Go vocal. I'm bored and I need to know you actually are thinking and not waiting for me to lose my nerve."

Ria felt offended, partly because he was right - she had no idea what he wanted from her.

"No pouting in the office. This is a new rule."

_"If I can't make Gillian dress sexy in the office I can at least try to make Torres be less annoying."_

Ria had to smile at his comment.

"Locker will have to reinvent all his facial activity" she giggled.

"Well, a rule's a rule." Cal smirked and motioned to the screen. Ria tried to come up with some original idea, failed and ended up saying the first thing that occurred to her:

"I can tell for sure she's telling the truth."

"About what?"

"That she's ok." Ria felt stupid.

"Now this is good." Cal smiled happily. "And?"

"And she's fine. Sleep-deprived but fine. That is good news." Ria shifted in her seat uncomfortably, desperation in her eyes.

"Think out of the box Torres. You have an assumption and a theory. You also have the circumstances. Match the theory with the circumstances and you will see it."

_"Could I have been more clear? Why is she looking at me wide-eyed? I just told her what to do!"_

"Ok." Ria fell silent processing his words. Then Cal finally saw an international "Evrika!" expression on her face.

_"Thank god!"_

"She shouldn't be fine! If she was abducted she must have been hurt both physically and morally and she's not. She's completely fine!"

Cal beamed. "See I knew you would get there!"

Ria jumped to her feet and started circling the room, thinking aloud:

"That means she wasn't abducted! She planned it all to get the money!"

Cal frowned. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Ria stopped dead in her tracks. "What?"

"That it's her money?"

"Right." Ria came up with another idea immediately: "Maybe her husband is a maniac and she needs the money to get away from him?"

"You know when I said "think out of the box" I meant "think out of the traditional box", not out of the box of reason." Cal shook his head and Ria couldn't help but chuckle.

"Be precise next time" she said, her eyes twinkling. She caught herself thinking it was the first time she and her boss were having a normal conversation and he even seemed human. Now she began to understand how Foster could put up with him on a daily basis.

_"She's not that annoying after all. Even fun sometimes" _Cal glanced at his watch again.

"What's up?" Ria's question caught him off-guard and before he could stop himself Cal answered automatically:

"Foster should be here any minute. Where the hell is she?"

In that very second the very Gillian Foster walked through the door, dressed in an impeccable blue dress and same black heels.

"Sorry, had to go home and change" she shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Didn't want to get Locker's hopes up and watch him pouting for a week after."

Cal and Ria exchanged looks and almost burst out laughing.

"What?" Gillian asked amused by the non-verbal interaction between them.

"You don't have to worry about that". Ria tried to keep laughter away from her voice. "There's a new "no pouting in the office" rule." Ria couldn't help it anymore and burst into giggles.

"What? Cal you can't come up with rules like that!" She said jokingly, teasing him a little.

_"Yeah I can. I'm the boss" _before he could voice his thought Ria did it, taking her time out from giggling uncontrollably.

"Yeah he can. He's the boss."

Gillian stared at her, amazed by the easiness of the air in the room. Usually Lightman+Torres equaled the tension of 220V but now...

"I'm the boss." Cal stated proudly.

"I see you've been bonding," Gillian said sitting on the edge of Cal's table, smiling happily.

Ria didn't hesitate to tell Gillian about their discovery.

".... So that means she wasn't abducted!" she finished and the silence filled the room. Gillian looked up at Cal:

"See I told you you had to teach her! Look how good it's working out. I'm happy you finally gave mentoring a try."

_"See I knew it would make you happy. That's why I did it in the first place! What the hell? Did I really spend all this time with Torres hoping Gillian would find out and be happy about it? That is insane. I'm so screwed."_

"It's kinda rewarding, isn't it?" he chuckled, looking proudly at Torres.

"Always" Gillian grinned. Suddenly her phone rang. Looking at the called ID she sighed and frowned a little so Cal knew immediately it was Alec calling. "the problem" was written all over her face again.

"Gotta take this." Gillian left the room abruptly.

_"What the hell is going on with her?"_

Cal turned around just to meet Ria's cold gaze.

"What?" he asked, taken aback

"You know, I simply can't believe you!" Ria was positively steaming with anger.

"That's what my ex-wife said. Could you be more precise?" Cal was back to his mocking tone.

"It was never about teaching me, was it?" Ria stared into Cal's eyes intently. When he didn't say anything she smirked angrily: "Just like I thought." Ria shook her head in disbelief and stormed out of the room.

_"I never knew it wasn't, luv. Until now." _

**Next up: The chapter in which it's not all in black and white.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, had some stuff to sort out) **

**I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone. Thanks all those who review cause it makes me really happy) Ad thanks so much for those who take their time to read my story! I really hope you like it! **

**xxxxxxx**

**A.**

**The chapter in which it's not all in black and white.**

Gillian returned to the room, looking questioningly at Cal.

"What did you do?"

"Now why do you always assume it was my fault?" Cal retorted pouting slightly.

"Your eyebrows just went up which means it was in fact your fault. And no pouting in the office. Remember?" Gillian was clearly teasing him, trying to get the "problem" out of her head.

_"Wanna play? You got it."_

"I made that rule. I don't have to follow it." Cal tried to sound serious and arrogant, annoying her but letting a slight smile slip to let her know it was all a game. He walked to the chairs that he and Ria used while watching the video and sat down motioning for Gillian to take the other one.

"So you have no respect for rules you make whatsoever?" Gillian said in that shrink tone that she knew would drive him crazy, settling down in front of him.

"I'm not a very respectful person, with my job of prying into people's lives and all" Cal threw a little bit of "i'm-opening-up-to-you" at her, knowing it would push her buttons.

"Why is it that every time we have a discussion it turns out to be about you?" she asked him, amused smile on her face.

"Because I'm that self-indulgent." Cal looked her in the eye and smiled widely, looking like a happy child. Seconds later they both broke out laughing.

"Didn't know you were a dancer" Cal started a new game, giving Gillian a mischievous look. Embarrassment registered on her face.

"I'm not, it's just with a good partner it's easier." She regained her composure, and looked him in the eye letting Cal know she wasn't talking about dancing only.

"Thank you" he answered her unvoiced praise.

"You're welcome" for a moment they enjoyed the comfortable silence in the room.

"Something's off" Gillian said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean, luv?"

"About this case. What do we have? Fear from Margareth - Carla's best friend. The fact that Carla cheated on her husband before the wedding. And now we find out that she wasn't abducted. It just doesn't come together." Gillian shook her head, lost in speculation.

Cal glanced at his watch.

"Almost seven. Margareth's gonna be here any minute. You're not too tired for a little adventure I hope?" Gillian recognized that special look that he always had when close to cracking the case.

"What do you have in mind?" he was already striding out of the room and Gillian had to speed up to catch up with him.

_"Wait and see. luv" _

He never answered her question, shooting her a mysterious look instead. Gillian rolled her eyes and followed him to the interrogation room.

The red-headed girl was already sitting in the cube, tapping her fingers on the table impatiently.

"_anxious_"

Cal motioned for Torres to come close.

"You go solo."

"What?" her eyes widened in pure surprise.

"You. Go. Solo." he repeated slowly.

"Fine." Cal could see a mixture of happiness and pride on her face. He went on:

"But" a flicker of annoyance ran through her features_."When will she grow up already?"_ "There is something I want you to do."

"Ok" Ria seemed to have put up with the fact that there were gonna be guidelines.

"Don't let her know we think Carla wasn't abducted. Emphasize that we believe she was, that we think she's being kept somewhere. Got it?"

"Yes, boss." Ria nodded and entered the cube.

Cal sat down next to Gillian and they watched Ria questioning the girl. Soon it was pretty obvious that as Ria stated they believed that Carla had been abducted, Margareth calmed down a bit and was feeling increasingly secure as the interrogation went on. Cal smiled contently and touched Gillian's shoulder.

"Time for that little adventure I was telling you about" She nodded and Cal saw that the chase exited her already.

"Hey, Locker" Locker looked up from his notebook "Keep her here as long as you can. Paperwork and stuff." Cal said leaving the room, not bothering to wait for Locker's "You got it, Boss."

Gillian managed to keep herself from asking him where they were going. In the car Cal looked at her and saw her desperately trying to hide her curiosity and pretend to be calm.

_"Come on, luv. I know you can't wait to find out where we're going. You just have to ask." _Cal was still looking at her waiting for her question but apparently Gillian was being stubborn. Suddenly she faced him and said somewhat childishly

"I'm not asking. Just drive already."

"As you say, luv" Cal smirked and turned the car on. In five minutes he glanced at her again, she was so unnaturally focused staring on the road that Cal couldn't help it

"You know, they say you can actually die from curiosity." he teased her again.

"I don't care where we're going" she said stubbornly still a little offended he refused to tell her about his plan earlier.

"Really? What if it's dangerous?" he said in a low voice, getting a feeling that their little game was spanning out of control.

"I trust you." she said casually.

Cal was caught off guard.

_"So simple. How can she just say stuff like that out of the blue? First she says I'm a good partner and now this. I could get used to that."_

"Fine." he said, trying not to show her how her little confessions were affecting him. "we're going to Margareth's place."

"Rodrigo said Carla trusted her. You think she might be hiding out there?"

Cal parked the car and unfastened his seat belt. "that's what we're gonna find out."

Five minutes later they wee standing at the door to flat No17. Cal eyed the door. "No peephole. Now that's not safe, is it?" With that he knocked on the door loudly.

"What are you doing?" Gillian whispered "She will think it's police or something." Cal just grinned at her and kept on banging.

"Is anyone there?" He shouted "Pizza delivery. The cheesiest pizza in the world waiting for you!"

Gillian almost doubled over with silent laughter. She leaned on the wall and covered her mouth with her hand shaking slightly. Cal went on.

"Hello! Pizza delivery!" when there was no answer he swore loudly, not bothering to hide his accent: "Those bloody americans, order pizza and don't even bother to open the door. Is this a fuckin' joke?" In that instant the door opened and they were faced with a very embarrassed Carla who muttered:

"We didn't order pizza." Seeing Cal she stepped back, very pale and obviously scared.

"Well, what can I say. Never open the door to strangers." Cal said, entering the room, Gillian following behind him.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Carla's voice was shaking slightly.

"We represent a company that your family hired to find you" Gillian said soothingly, trying to calm the girl down while Cal say down on the couch. However, Carla's eyes widened even more.

"Oh my God. You can't be here. Please, leave." she begged desperately.

"Carla, calm down." Gillian laid her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Can you tell us what's going on?"

"Yeah. I mean it's kinda weird you ordering pizza from your best friend's place while your whole family is going crazy trying to find you" Cal added in a harsh voice.

"I didn't order any pizza!" countered the girl backing away from them.

"Cal stop it, you're not helping" Gillian hissed and turned to Carla.

"Look, I have no idea what's going on here. You don't look like someone who's lying to her family deliberately to get the money. We can help you if you tell us the truth." Gillian looked at Carla empathetically, but the girl pursed her lips, as if trying to silence herself.

"Oh, come on, Gillian! You can't be that naive! How do you think someone who's lying to her family to get the money looks like? I bet she did it cause she's fed up and has some plans of her own, don't you?" Cal countered in his best asshole voice.

"No!" Carla said desperately. "I would never do that! I can't tell you. You have to leave before Margareth gets back, please!" suddenly Cal jumped from the couch and approached the girl.

"That was the truth. Why are you so scared she will find us here, huh?" he was in Carla's personal space now, his eyes boring into hers.

"Cause if she does my life will be ruined!" Carla seemed to have calmed down. "Is she blackmailing you?" Gillian sounded concerned. Cal backed off letting Gillian do her thing.

"Yes" the girl's words were barely audible.

"She knows about Ted?" Gillian asked. Carla's eyes widened in fear again.

"How do you know that? Does James know?" she sounded truly terrified.

"Nah, only us. For now" Cal said eyeing her intensely. "Now what you have to do is give us a reason to let it stay this way"

Carla looked defeated. She said down on the couch and asked in a low voice:

"What do you want to know?" Gillian took over from Cal and sat down next to her.

"Why are you here?" Carla looked up and explained.

"I was so stupid to tell her about Ted. And after the wedding she approached me. Said she would tell James everything if I didn't give her the money. All of it. How could I have? We've made plans for the money, it was ours not just mine anymore! I would have to explain where 1 million bucks went. Then she came up with this plan." She made a helpless gesture. "You may think I am an awful person but I agreed to fake being abducted. No one would have ever found out."

"Right. So not only you cheat on your husband, but you also rob your own family of one million dollars." Cal sounded bitter.

"Are you gonna arrest me?" Carla asked looking down.

"No. What we're gonna do is tell your family the truth." Cal saw the girl's shoulders hunch.

"Please don't. I know I messed up, but..."

"Big time." Cal interrupted her harshly. Suddenly Gillian interrupted, shooting an icy glare at Cal.

"Look, Carla, everyone makes mistakes. It's how you make amends is what matters." she said softly, motioning for Cal to shut up.

_"Is she protecting her? The girl's a spoiled liar and a coward."_

"I know what you must think of me. The thing is I can't tell him. He will never forgive me. But that isn't what really matters. I don't wanna hurt him like that. I don't care about the money, I just want him to be happy." she said sadly, looking at Gillian helplessly. Before Gillian could say anything Cal butted in again.

"I bet you weren't thinking that when you were cheating on him, tricked him into marrying you, scared him to death pretending to have been abducted. My, that guy is lucky to have you taking care of his feelings." he didn't even try to keep the resentment out of his voice. Gillian looked up at him, her eyes throwing daggers at Cal.

"Could I talk to you for a second?" she asked. Cal sighed and followed her to the kitchen.

"What's going on?" she asked him angrily.

"Look, I don't get why you're protecting her." Cal said seriously.

"She loves her husband. She's not a bad person. She got herself in a huge mess. Why are you being so hard on her?" Gillian countered.

"Why? Because I hate what she does."

"You're not the one to judge her." Gillian noted, putting her hand on his shoulder in a calming gesture. "I know how you feel about betrayal but you have to understand this girl needs our help."

"She can only help herself by telling the truth to everyone who cares about her" his voice was softer now and inwardly Cal knew Gillian had won this battle.

"I don't think she should. She is right it will only hurt her husband."

"So you think she should keep lying to him?" Cal was flaming up again.

"It's not all in black and white, Cal. This is her choice, let her make it. You don't have to be responsible for everyone doing the right thing. Let people make their mistakes." She was stroking his arm slightly, making little shivers run down his spine. Cal smirked a little.

"Don't use your shrink powers on me." Gillian smiled a little, knowing he would be on her side now.

"Sorry." she tried to suppress a content smile but failed miserably.

"Nah, you're not." he grinned knowingly, "you don't have to lie to make me feel better." he mastered a shrink voice as best as he could, making her giggle.

"So how do we get her out of this mess?" Gillian brought her finger to her mouth, stroking her lip slightly.

_"God. That looks hot. Now I'm supposed to surprise her with some crazy good idea. Too bad I can only think about her lips right now"_

"Got an idea!" he said and went back to the living room hurriedly, hoping she wouldn't notice he lied.

She didn't.

**Next up: the chapter in which Cal surprises Gillian and she returns the favor. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Hello everyone!!! Sorry I haven't updated the story in a while - I went to Cuba for two weeks and therefore couldn't update. The trip was awesome by the way))) Missed you all, hope you missed me as well))) **

**Here's the new chapter, not too long, but there's more coming soon. It's a promise)**

**Enjoy, thanx everyone for reading!**

**Love.**

**A.**

**The chapter in which Cal surprises Gillian and she returns the favor.**

_"Gotta come up with something brilliant NOW" _Cal looked around the room, taking in Carla's worried form and Gillian's shiny eyes. Meanwhile Gillian approached the girl

"We can help you out of this." She said, taking hold of the girl's hand.

"You won't tell James?" Carla's tear-filled eyes looked up for the first time.

"It's not our place to." Gillian said seriously, settling down on the couch beside the girl. "You have to remember this. Sometimes a lie is really a way out, but it doesn't justify it. Lies stem from our mistakes." Gillian fell silent not wanting to give a big speech, just giving Carla something to think over. The girl was not saying anything, her shoulders were hunched, her gaze glued to the floor. With a sigh Gillian looked at Cal pleadingly waiting for him to tell her his idea.

_"As if I had one." _Cal smiled reassuringly at her and stood up. He still wasn't sure about it, and even though Gillian insisted they help the girl out he needed some kind of proof she was worthy of it. Moreover, the so-called test would give him time to come up with some idea of how to get her out of this mess. Cal crossed the room and faced Carla.

"Answer one question. If I were to call the FBI guys and accuse Margareth of abducting you, would you justify?"

"I'm sorry?" Carla frowned a little, getting her hair out of her face.

"Would you say "Yes, I was abducted"? It would put her in jail and you're free to go." Cal explained, tilting his head to the side, studying her face. Carla shook her head slowly.

"But that's a lie... She did blackmail me, but abduction I faked... I won't lie to put anyone in jail. I need to stop, you know, to break this circle where one lie triggers another."

Gillian concealed a triumphant smile, her eyes twinkling, saying "Told ya!". Cal had to suppress his own smile. _"We've played this game a million times and victory still makes her that happy. Incredible_"

Cal shifted his eyes to Carla, trying to come up with a plan. _"The FBI idea wasn't too bad... What if..." _

"I'm calling the FBI guys and you are going to justify to having been abducted." He said firmly.

"But they will put her in jail for several years" Carla tried to object, "I can't do that."

"Yeah but we will give her a chance to make a deal." Cal said in his favorite "wait-and-see" manner.

"You mean to make her leave me alone by threatening to put her in jail?" Carla's eyes widened. Cal shrugged his shoulders, stealing a surprised look from Gillian. He picked up his phone and dialed Locker.

"Hey. Margareth still there? Ok, let her go. And send Reynolds with two other tough looking guys to her house." He hung up the phone and smiled happily, raising his eyebrows. "This is gonna be fun."

***

As they left the building and got in the car, Margareth showed up, and in five minutes Reynolds and two other FBI guys appeared. Cal explained his plan to them:

"So you go up, knock on the door, I don't know, say you're pizza delivery or something," he shot a dirty look at Gillian who was trying to suppress a giggle, "then you rush in, pull out you guns, act all FBI. You" he pointed at Reynolds "yell at Margareth, just be your angry self. Scare her, accuse her of abducting Carla and then give the girls a chance to talk alone. That's it."

Reynolds frowned: "you want us to **pretend** to be arresting her?"

"That's right" Cal's hands were in his pockets and he looked up at Reynolds.

"We're FBI, not some clowns. You said you needed tough guys" His face had anger written all over it.

"Hey" Cal let some anger slip into his voice as well. "You get a chance to act out without shooting anyone and help a girl at the same time. And I hope you get me right, I'm not asking you to do this. I'm telling you to." Reynolds nostrils flared as he tried to stare Cal down, which didn't really work out. After all, Lightman was right, he was officially under his command, however FBI called this "collaboration". He tried to keep up the angry attitude and motioned for his men to follow him into the building.

A content smile was playing on Cal's lips. _"That will teach him a lesson. Interesting case, that one, so damn stubborn." _he turned to face Gillian who was leaning on his car.

"Well, that was a bit excessive, but effective one the less" she admitted.

_"And of course she's not talking about Reynolds"_

"Just like your dance session earlier?" he countered, circling the car and getting in. She got in herself and looked at him intently.

"What?" he turned to face her, and they sat in silence for a few seconds, just staring at each other. Then Cal saw a slightest twinkle of a newborn smile in her eyes. "Nothing" Gillian turned away from him and he could see a small smile reaching the corners of her lips, curling them up a little. He suppressed his own smile and drove off.

_"And still I managed to surprise her."_

_***_

Thу case was officially closed. Reynolds, reported with marked indifference that Cal's plan worked: Margareth promised to leave Carla alone and the girl was free to go. She told her family one last lie about being abducted by Margareth who repented her actions and let Carla go in the end. They fell for it, too happy to see Carla well and alive. Cal dismissed Reynolds and glanced at his watch - it was high time to get back home, he desperately needed to get some sleep. He grabbed his coat and headed for the exit, running into Gillian and Alec right in front of his office.

_"They look better today. Not as troubled as before."_

"Hey" Cal shook Alec's hand.

"I hear you did well today." Alec smiled genuinely and wrapped his hand around Gillian's waist.

"I wouldn't put it as "we", it was mostly on Gillian's part." Cal answered heartedly.

"Really?" Alec's features reflected pure surprise.

"Sure, without her we wouldn't have got all the information we needed." Cal nodded. Before he could continue, Gillian interrupted him:

"It was nothing special really, just did some persuasive talking", she said, clinging closer to her husband and smiling at him almost genuinely, giving Cal a warning look.

_"She didn't tell him about Rodrigo?" _This not so pleasant surprise seemed to have hit Cal in the stomach and he felt a strange burning sensation which could only be classified as anger inside of him.

"And we all know how well you can master that" Aleс said somewhat bitterly and was going to say goodbye, when Cal faked remembering something important.

"Actually, I need to talk to you about something. Mind if I steal her for a moment?" he asked Alec, ignoring Gillian's angry stare. Alec shrugged his shoulders:

"Ok, I'll just wait here."

"Thanks." Cal opened his office door for Gillian.

"I'll just be a minute" she promised apologetically, entering Cal's office. Inside she spun on her heels and faced Cal.

"What?" she spat defensively, letting him know she knew exactly what he was going to ask her about. Cal took in her angry posture and saw Alec, looking at them through the glass walls of the office.

"Not here" he said and went into his study. Gillian followed him and closed the door. He turned to face her immediately.

"You didn't tell him" he stated accusingly.

"Leave it alone, Cal." she said taken aback by his rude violation of "the line". For once Cal was too angry to care.

"You're lying to your husband when you just saw where it can get you?" he knew he wasn't supposed to be talking about this things but he just couldn't help it.

"It's not the same thing, Cal" she said pointedly, leaning on the door.

"Yes it is." He approached her and put his hand on the doorframe, so that she was completely trapped. Cal searched her eyes and read anger with a hint of something else, something he couldn't quite place. The air around them felt really thick now as Cal realized just how close they were standing.

"You're projecting." She said, suddenly very calm and then Cal knew exactly what that hint in her eyes had been - it was her search for an explanation. Now that she found it, she was confident again.

_"How did she guess?" _all of a sudden Cal felt very exposed.

Gillian went on:

"You're projecting the case we just had onto our lives, but it has nothing to do with it. You know things between me and Alec have not been going too well, he doesn't need to know about Rodrigo. Just forget it, Cal. Go home."

Cal let out the breath he was holding and Gillian mistook his relief for defeat. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Goodnight, Cal". He let her go and watched her leave with Alec. For a few moments he was just standing there, then grabbed his coat again and headed for the exit.

_"You're right, luv. I was projecting. Wouldn't want you to lie to me like that."_

**Next up: The chapter comprising apple cobbler, lightman group internal affairs and Emily deciding to leave her boyfriend.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! Makes me feel gooood)))**

**The chapter results pretty long, so I decided to break it down in two. Hope you like it)**

**ps. And yes, he will do the whiny thing about pizza, but in his own "Cal" way.**

**Love**

**A.**

**The chapter comprising apple cobbler, lightman group internal affairs and Emily deciding to leave her boyfriend. (Part 1.)**

_"Ok, here it comes"_, Cal thought happily, looking at two guys about to start fighting in the hall of the Lightman Group. Several days passed after Carla's case has been closed and nothing new has come up yet. Well, nothing except for a simple case of two rich guys who wanted the same girl and wanted to know which one of them she was in love with. Of course Gillian insisted they take it, she loved those cases, the ones that didn't ask for much work and offered lots of money. She called it "covering costs." The costs to cover were different every time, for example in this case she simply shrugged her shoulders and said:

"Well, we have to cover insurance costs... Also, I want a new car." Taking in Cal's surprise she chuckled "Just kidding. Still lets take it, it's gonna be fine." Cal knew it was gonna be fine, but he had some plans of his own.

He held a few short one-on-one conversations with both guys, feeding a little into their suspicions and fears, and the girl who proved to be unwilling to choose between them did it: now the two were fuming with anger and ready to tear each other apart.

_"Good boys"_ Cal thought as he watched them launch at each other, Reynolds hurrying to separate them and escort them out of the building. Cal smiled inwardly and hurried into Gillian's office.

She pretended to be surfing the internet, looking thoughtfully at the monitor. She greeted Cal with a light nod as if she didn't know why he was there.

_"That's good. Much better then "Oh, hi! Something happened?" people usually use. But I can read you, luv"_

_"_That wasn't fine." he stated, standing in the doorway. Gillian didn't answer him, sighing and looking up at him. Cal was waiting for her excuses, but none came so he went on.

"The guys were fighting in the hall." he added, trying his best to keep the angry boss attitude. Gillian answered calmly:

"For two minutes, Cal. Reynolds handled it just fine."

"Yes, but what if he hadn't been there? Someone could get hurt." Cal said pointedly and with a sly grin added "You owe me."

Gillian smiled, tilting her head a tittle. "You're impossible. What do you want?"

Cal frowned his eyebrows, lost in thought. "A pepperoni would probably make it up to me." he admitted finally. "And since you never buy me pizza when you get me in trouble it will have to be a big one."

A momentary lack of understanding on her face changed into a genuine amusement. "Are you jealous of Rodrigo's pizza?" When she received no answer but for his childish smile, she got up slowly. "How about..." She took her purse, "... I treat you..." Gillian approached him, taking her time and moving purposely slow. "...to a full healthy lunch?" She winked at him and moved past, leaving the office as he stood there dumfounded for a second. Then he snapped back to reality and followed her into the hall.

"Since when do you eat healthy?" he demanded, catching up with her.

"I don't. We're going to a place where they cook the best apple cobbler in the world." Before Cal could answer his cell rang. He picked it up with a muffled "sorry".

"hey Em... Fine.... Ok, no problem," he glanced at Gillian "actually, we were just going to have lunch with Gillian, but... " Gillian smiled and said:

"Would she like to join us?" Cal smiled gratefully.

"You wanna come? Ok, Gillian will pick you up in about 15 minutes. See you... Bye, luv." he hang up, facing Gillian.

"You go I'll join you girls in half an hour." he said, "Could I ask you to do something for me?"

"Ok" Gillian answered unsure of what was going to come next. "You want me to talk to Emily?" Cal averted her eyes, searching for words when she suddenly knew what he wanted of her. "You want me to talk to her about sex? Cal, she'll be uncomfortable talking to me. It's better if Zoe..."

"Zoe and I are the parents. No one listens to their parents when it comes to sex. I didn't. You on the other hand..." he paused "she likes you Foster. Maybe if you tried talking to her as a friend, told her all those wild years are overrated" he looked at her pleadingly.

"I don't think all those wild years are overrated, Cal. Experimenting is an important process in..." she started, but seeing his pained expression Gillian fell silent. "Well, I could try" Gillian gave up. "See you in half an hour."

"Thanks" Cal nodded to her and left her standing alone in the hall.

"Thank you too, I guess" Gillian muttered unenthusiastically.

***

In the car they talked about every day stuff like school, work, favorite music bands. As they drove up to the restaurant and walked to their table, Gillian decided it was time to change the subject of the conversation.

"So Emily, your dad asked me to talk to you about sex." Gillian said blatantly.

"What?" Emily was clearly shocked, but recovered quickly. "Aren't you supposed to dance around the subject and try to persuade me it was your own idea?"

Gillian smirked. "Well, that's the normal game plan. But I'd rather be honest with you and get it over with quickly."

"Ok, I guess, I don't really have a choice." Emily said hesitantly.

"Believe me, neither do I. Your dad..." Gillian sighed, trying to lower the psychological barrier between them. She succeeded - Emily smiled openly, "Yeah, he can do that."

They exchanged understanding glances and the waiter chose exactly that moment to approach their table.

"What would you like to drink?" he asked politely.

Gillian looked up at the plump red-headed young man and cursed him inwardly. However she mastered a polite smile and ordered fresh orange juice, while Emily went for a coke with lemon. When the waiter left to get the drinks Gillian picked up where they left off.

"I gave this a thought and... I'm not going to talk to you about contraceptives, diseases and what all guys want. Not because all those things aren't important, but because I'm sure you've heard it all a thousand times." Gillian used her best soothing voice.

"Yeah, that's about all I hear lately. Like, I get a boyfriend and the next day I'm in some kind of risk group, you know?" Emily answered, clearly relieved by Gillian's words. Gillian couldn't help but smile at the girl's comment:

"Well, believe me, every girl goes through that."

"Did you?" Emily asked her, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.

"To be honest, my dad didn't care that much, but my mom really gave me a hard time, you see, I was going out with a rebel - he had long hair and his own car and played guitar like a god." Gillian flashed Emily a dreamy smile. "For my mom it was a nightmare."

Emily giggled "I can imagine. Was it worth it?"

"Oh yes." The both laughed and Gillian went on. "So I decided I would talk to you about other things." She was silent for a moment, trying to find the right words. "Things like what is important to know about sex. It can be incredible, but it can also be a disaster. There are two main things that can lead to a disaster and believe me you don't want to be there when it happens." Emily was listening to her attentively. "The first thing is the motivation. Any other motivation that passion is unacceptable. Curiosity, desire to experiment, even tenderness are not enough. You have to physically want that person, want to tear their clothes off, to be as close to them as possible." Gillian decided to add some scientific facts to make it sound more neutral and abstract. " Usually passion is almost tangible between the two, people try to get closer physically so they touch each other constantly, share food, even take small things from each other and keep them, like notes or items of clothes, that serve as physical reminders. Passion is a basic instinct, it's simple and very strong. It is the only thing that kills the embarrassment and awkwardness between two people and without it believe me, it just will never work. But if you feel intense desire for someone... He will make your bones melt."

"Your orange juice and coke" the cheery waiter interrupted them again and Gillian shot him a dirty look accompanied by a curt "Thank You". He got the hint and disappeared immediately.

Emily took a big gulp of coke and looked up at Gillian.

"You ok?" Gillian asked her, worried, but Emily gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, it's a little weird, but you know, you somehow make it impersonal. Like it's not about me so it's not as embarrassing as I thought it would be."

"Thank you. By the way jealousy also comes from passion - the desire to own the other person triggers it." Gillian added, happy that Emily was willing to participate in the discussion and was not shutting her out.

"To be honest, I expected you to talk about love, romance and all that stuff", Emily said, shrugging her shoulders a little.

"That's the other factor. But lets call it closure. What I mean now is the emotional compound. It may not matter as much in the process, but... Raw passion will result in awesome sex and feeling bad after it, especially for women. Most men consider sex out of pure passion as proof of their masculinity so the wrongness is veiled by pride. But most women are by nature more emotional, so that kind of sex makes us feel like we did something wrong. For a girl it's important to trust her partner, to have an emotional attachment to him. That way you won't feel dirty afterwards. And now I'll be straight with you. You're fifteen and your body is ready. You can experience passion, desire, longing, it's perfectly natural. However, psychologically you are by no means ready for that level of closure and openness. You are in the process of forming your identity, and you haven't developed the self-awareness, confidence and maturity required for that kind of relationship. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. Gillian, I wasn't actually going to..." Emily tried to explain her position, but Gillian interrupted her with a comforting smile:

"You don't have to explain anything to me. You make your own choices, I just wanted to help you avoid some mistakes girls your age usually make."

"Thanks, Gillian." Emily smiled back and Gillian felt a wave of relief wash over her - she had been worrying Emily would never look at her the same way again, but the girl proved to be quite resilient. Emily fiddled with her straw and came up with a new question. "What is love than? From scientific point of view? I mean you called emotional attachment "closure" instead of love."

"Love is a complex subject. The traditional definition of romantic love is that it is an interception of both physical and emotional aspects in their strongest phase." Gillian smiled innocently looking at Emily trying to process her words.

"Wow, you guys really know how to complicate things." Emily stated and they both laughed again, just as Cal arrived at the restaurant.

***

**Next up:** **The chapter comprising apple cobbler, lightman group internal affairs and Emily deciding to leave her boyfriend. (Part 2)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: The longest chapter!!! =))))) hope u like it!**

**Thanx again everyone for reading! Thanx to all who take their time to review! means a lot to me! ))))**

**Love ya!**

**A.**

**The chapter comprising apple cobbler, lightman group internal affairs and Emily deciding to leave her boyfriend. (Part 2)**

Cal was cursing himself inwardly. The thought of asking Gillian to have a "sex talk" with Emily crept into his head a while ago when he noticed the way his daughter laughed off his remarks about sex and how annoyed she looked when Zoe tried to talk to her about it. The idea lived in his head he just never thought he would virtually ask Gillian to do it.

_"I didn't ask her, she guessed. Sometimes I believe she can read my thoughts. Hopefully not all of them. Still, this talk was a bad idea" h_e thought as he drove up to the restaurant and got out of the car a little quicker than usually. He walked into the building looking around for Gillian and Emily and finally spotted them in the far table in the corner. To his relief they were laughing happily, no sign of tension between them.

_"Wow. She's really good. Not that I didn't know that before, but telling a fifteen year old she cannot have sex for like ever and having her laugh about it? She deserves a Shrink Academy Award."_

Cal walked up to their table just as their laughter subsided a little. Emily saw him first and greeted him with a smile, rising from her place to give him a kiss on the cheek. Hу sat down next to Gillian and looked at her, sparkles of laughter still in her eyes.

"Hi, luv." he tried to put all his gratitude in these two words and she read him perfectly.

"Hi yourself. You hungry? We were just about to order" Gillian pushed the menu towards Cal.

"Yeah, what are you two getting?" he answered, completely engrossed in the menu now.

"I'm having fried chicken fingers with French fries and a blue cheese sauce." Emily said dreamily, while Gillian added trying to keep her voice even "And I'm having beef fillet with baked potatoes".

Suddenly Cal raised his head from the menu. "Is this the place?" he asked Gillian unbelievingly. She couldn't help her content smile "Bingo."

"What place?" Emily frowned a bit, having no clue what they were talking about.

"We were here once, a few years ago. They make the best baked potatoes in the world" Cal explained, smiling widely.

"Not to mention that after the potatoes we managed to get so desperately drunk here that Alec and Zoe had to rescue us." Gillian giggled. "Alec was so mad." she caught Cal's accusing stare. "Cal, relax. Emily knows you are human too." she said innocently. "By the way, Emily, it was after a very tough case."

"I guess," Emily answered, smiling, but both Cal and Gillian saw the sadness running through her features.

"What is it, luv?" Cal asked her immediately and she shrugged her shoulders a little.

"It's just... they must really get to you, you know, those cases." Emily said, inflicting the silence on them. Cal and Gillian exchanged looks not knowing what to say. Luckily, the waiter approached them to take their order. Cal looked at the plump red headed guy with gratitude.

_"Good timing."_

They all made their orders, Cal ordering the same dish as Gillian. The waiter left and Cal restarted the conversation:

"How is school? Still tragic" he asked Emily, smiling a little,

"Yeah," she sighed, "I wonder was it always like that?"

"I loved my school years," Gillian sighed.

"I bet you did", Cal smirked and went on teasingly, "top of her class, the prom Queen, am I missing something?"

"Well, actually," Gillian said, turning to face him, "I was top of my class, but the prom Queen thing didn't quite work out." there was a hint of pride in her voice and Cal was going to call her on that when Emily intervened:

"Because of that guy, right?" she asked knowingly

"Yes," Gillian said smiling widely, turning away from Cal and sipping her drink innocently.

"What guy?" Cal was really interested now and switched his gaze from Emily to Gillian who exchanged those "girly" glances.

"Emily was referring to my high school boyfriend who was a real rebel, played guitar like a god and drove around on a Harley. Being a prom Queen didn't go with my image, if you know what I mean." Cal was left speechless.

_"So instead of telling Em she couldn't have sex for like ever she told her about her own rebel boyfriend? That sex talk was a really bad idea_."

"Wow, he had a Harley?" Emily's eyes widened.

"Yeah..." Gillian said dreamily and suddenly Cal felt he was having a "sex-in-the-city-lunch" instead of a normal lunch.

"Why do women always care about such things?" he asked in his best "masculine" voice.

"Maybe because psychologically we look for a better male and in out material world we have to look for material things." Emily tried to give a scientific explanation remembering their conversation with Gillian earlier. Gillian gave her an approving smile and Cal chuckled.

"Foster, she just stole your line" he teased her again, patting her on the shoulder lightly.

"I have to come up with something else now..." she smiled happily again and shooting Cal a look added: "I think we just want our men to stand out. He can have a Harley or play football like a god, or... be a human lie detector," she nodded at Cal.

"You see dad, you have like a mental Harley," Emily burst out laughing joined by both Cal and Gillian.

Their food was served and they all dug in, obviously hungry. Cal and Gillian both had several thin slices of roast beef accompanied by baked potatoes. About two minutes passes in happy silence, interrupted by Cal suddenly turning his head to the side and peering into the distance. Gillian stopped eating and looked in that direction. Cal smiled slyly and used that moment to steal a baked potato from her plate.

"Nah, it just seemed to me... doesn't matter." he said, popping the potato in his mouth. Emily couldn't help her giggling and Gillian looked at her questioningly. Cal chose that moment to say:

"Look, isn't it the guy we were working for last month?"

"Where?" Gillian turned her head instinctively and another one of her potatoes was gone. She glanced at her plate, and faced Cal, taking in his I'm-being-a-bad-boy expression. "You're cheating! You can't use that one twice."

"I can use it as many times as you fall for it, luv." he said cheekily. Gillian smiled at his boyishness and threatened him with a knife. "Well I'm not falling for that again." He made a defeated gesture and shot Emily a dirty look. The girl was ready to burst out laughing any minute.

"Ok, if you're not falling for that again, I'll have to come up with something else." Cal said seriously.

"Right." Gillian answered, chuckling a little, bracing herself for the new trick to come from him. When he didn't say anything she looked at him expectantly. Cal frowned a little.

"I'm still thinking." then something behind her caught his attention. "Is that the car you told me about?"

"Which one?" Gillian looked back, trying to see what he was referring to. Meanwhile he robbed her of another potato. "No, you didn't" she turned to face him again.

"No, **you **didn't. Fall for that again I mean," he said happily. "You're just too curious."

"If it makes you feel better, I fell for it every time too," Emily admitted, feeling a little bad for Gillian, even though she didn't look upset at all, she looked like she had a plan of her own.

Cal sighed. "Ok you can take some of mine if it makes you feel better," he offered generously, grinning like a winner.

"No thank you, I can steal from you all right." Gillian smiled like a cheshire cat.

"You try." Cal accepted the challenge.

"You bet I will," Gillian, purred and accompanied her words with a slight hand movement, dropping one of the forks on the floor by accident, her clumsiness spoiling all the effect of her words. She sighed defeatedly. Cal touched her shoulder again:

"Don't worry, luv, I'll pick it up and you can replay your threat more gracefully," Cal bent down to get the fork. Gillian smiled triumphantly and stole one of his potatoes. She kept it on the fork for him to see her trophy, and suddenly she noticed Emily's gaze glued to the fork. She knew immediately what the girl was thinking about, her own words replaying in her head:

"..._passion is almost tangible between the two, people try to get closer physically so they touch each other constantly, share food, even take small things from each other and keep them..._"

Cal came up with a fork in his hand, noting the fork with a potato both Gillian and Emily were staring at.

"You minx," he smiled and then noticed the strange expressions both of them had. Emily looked positively astonished and Gillian had an absent look about her.

"What's wrong with it?" Cal asked, staring at the potato as well. Gillian and Emily snapped back to reality, avoiding looking at each other.

"Nothing," Gillian laid a fork on the plate. "I just don't think I'm that hungry anymore." Cal frowned. Reaching out for her arm he said:

"You ok?" Gillian saw Emily's gaze shift to where he was touching her.

"Yeah," she said, freeing her arm, just as the waiter came to clean their plates.

_"Good timing"_ Gillian thought, ignoring Cal's questioning gaze.

"And your apple cobbler," the waiter said putting a plate of a deliciously smelling desert in front of her. Gillian took a big spoon and put a piece of a caramel-covered apple with crunch on top in her mouth, savoring the taste and trying to get the last two minutes out of her head.

"You women are weird." Cal said, shaking his head. Emily smiled a little. "Dad, come on, guys always say that!"

"We have a reason to!" Cal countered. "You are weird because you're a teenager and you just do weird things."

"Ok." Emily admitted, thinking bout that stupid party a while ago. Cal went on: "my secretary is weird because she just seems to know everything about everything, my new employee is weird cause she thinks she's better than me, which is well... Weird." Both Gillian and Emily giggled at his comments. "You think it's funny?" he asked Gillian, "you're weird too."

"Me?" Gillian asked amused, "how am I weird?"

"You're like the most weird of all. For starters, you enjoy eating weird things."

"That I do," Gillian smiled happily, and added "I think knowing everything is more weird."

"Definitely," Emily supported her, forgetting their "moment" earlier.

"You forgave Loker." he said pointedly.

"That was not weird, that was tolerant and to be honest I'm still mad at him," Gillian answered, making Cal come up with another justification of her "most weird" title.

"You keep useless stuff. Like that note I wrote to you a while ago."

"It's not useless, it's an important reminder", Gillian answered and saw Emily's eyes widen again.

"they _even take small things from each other and keep them like notes or items of clothes, that serve as physical reminders",_

Gillian felt the urge to leave then and there. This was getting weird.

Cal saw Emily's surprise and said:

"Oh come on, like you don't keep useless stuff."

"Yeah, " Emily was lost for words. Luckily, in that very moment Gillian's phone rang.

_"Whoever you are, thank you!" _Gillian thought and reached for her phone, glancing at the caller ID - it was Rodrigo. She showed the phone to Cal and shrugged her shoulders, then answered.

"Hey" she said cheerfully. Cal's eyes were on her as she listened.

_"Why the hell is he calling her?"_

Then he saw Gillian smile. "You're very welcome, she said into the phone." After a slight pause she added "No, it's not necessary," then she chuckled, "Well, if that's the case, why not? But I think you should start charging me at some point."

_"He must be inviting her for some more dancing lessons. Moron"_

Cal watched Gillian smile and then say: "Well if so you should also be showing your gratitude to Cal, after all it was him who came up with the rescue plan."

_"Me? Dancing lessons? Never."_

"Yeah, I know he will never agree. You could add his gratitude hours to mine," Gillian said slyly, "Ok. Yeah, today's fine. See ya." She hang up the phone and explained.

"He offered some more dancing lessons."

"Is that the hot guy from the tape?" Emily asked, forgetting she wasn't supposed to know about it,

"Yeah, wait, how do you know about it? Cal?"

"She came in accidently," he brushed her off. "You're gonna go?" Gillian shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Sure, why not?" she smiled and glanced at her watch, "I have to go, so that I have time to change and..." but Cal interrupted her:

"Why not? Is that your reason?" he looked almost angry now.

"Yeah. It's dancing, Cal, leave it alone." she rose from the chair and looked at Cal hesitantly, thinking about what to do with the bill - it hasn't arrived yet and she didn't have it in her to wait for it. Cal guessed what she was thinking about and said grumpily: "You go, I got it."

"Thanks," Gillian said, relieved, "see ya!" she added in her favorite manner and left.

Cal followed her with his eyes and turned back to Emily. He couldn't stop thinking about Gillian dancing with that Spanish macho again. Without noticing it, he grabbed her unfinished apple cobbler and put a spoonful in his mouth.

"I can't believe you asked Gillian to talk to me about sex," Emily finally said the words she was holding back all lunch.

"How do you know I asked her?" Cal smirked, suddenly proud of his daughter skills. _"if she read Gillian, she must be good."_

"She told me," Emily dispelled his conclusions, glancing at another spoon of apple cobbler disappearing in his mouth. "Anyway, thanks for not doing it yourself, I don't think I would have survived through it."

"You're welcome, luv."

_"How can Gillian be so naive? It's clear that that guy is not after dancing at all. Maybe she knows it? Does it mean that..." _

He sent another spoonful in his mouth and finally, Emily couldn't contain herself anymore.

"Dad?" she said hesitantly.

"What, luv?"

"Errr you're eating baked apples," she said frowning a little, "covered in caramel. With like tons of crunch on it."

Cal glanced down at the almost empty plate and felt an overly sweet taste in his mouth.

_"I guess I am."_

He pushed the plate away eyeing it suspiciously.

"You ok?" Emily asked him, guessing he was disturbed by Gillian's dance lessons.

"Yeah," Cal payed the bill that had miraculously appeared on their table and got up. "Lets go, luv."

He hugged her shoulders and they left the restaurant. In the car Emily smiled to herself and said:

"I have to tell you something, dad."

"What's that?"

"I've decided... I'm breaking up with Dan."

_"Yes! Thank You so much, Gillian. That sex talk was a brilliant idea!" _

"Yeah? Why" Cal asked her, turning the car on.

"He doesn't make my bones melt." Emily said airily and leaned back in her seat.

_"That sex talk was a terrible, terrible idea,"_ Cal thought as he drove home.

** Next up: The chapter which Alec wishes never happened, even if he saw it coming. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Hey everyone =) **

**I tried to write this chapter a little differently, very openly, from a woman's POV. (as all the previous chapters were more or less Cal's POV). I really wanted it to be different. I hope i managed to do that. =)**

**Thank You all for reading! And huge thanks for all the reviews - they make me very happy and really mean a lot to me!**

**Love,**

**A.**

**The chapter which Alec wishes never happened, even if he saw it coming.**

Tap-tap-tap. Gillian's fingers danced nervously on the kitchen table top. Small explosions of sound in the absolute silence surrounding her. She sipped her hot chocolate and put the cup down with a bang. A slightly bigger explosion and yet the silence absorbed it easily. Gillian sighed and shifted in her seat, wanting to hear something else apart from her own heartbeat, that sounded louder and louder every second. She glanced at her watch: 23:47. The last time she checked it was 23:45 and yet it felt like it was ages ago.

_"Where the hell is he?"_ she thought for a hundreds time and smirked to herself: in the past few months it was mostly her who came home late and if she didn't Gillian literally prayed to God Alec would. Not this time though. This time she just wanted, needed him to come home now, this very moment.

Gillian glanced at her hot chocolate cup and gave another nervous chuckle. What she was about to do didn't really go with hot chocolate. More likely a glass of whiskey.

She closed her eyes and imagined herself sprawled on a leather chair in their library, her hand holding a glass of Whiskey, no, better good Cognac, hanging loosely from the chair handle, swinging the glass slightly, ice hitting the borders with light "clings." A single lamp illuminating the cozy room, giving it a yellowish glow, outlining the wooden bookshelves but not quite sufficient to read the names on the backs of the books. A cigarette would complete the picture, it's smoke spiraling up to the ceiling and swirling there, catching the scant light and creating mysterious shapes. Gillian's eyelids fluttered as she imagined herself, bringing the cigarette to her lips and letting smoke out as her husband entered the dark room, finding her there, in a faded spotlight, her side to him, her hair falling on her face, as she turned her head to greet him, her body clad in a short and clingy but elegant black dress, her naked legs bent in the knees, planted firmly on the wooden floor (black leather high-heeled round toe stilettos, latest YSL collection), her lips slightly parted, letting smoke escape on it's own rather than simply breathing it out. No make-up, except for a layer of waterproof mascara. Well, maybe two layers. She had it all figured out - what she would wear, how she would look. She even imagined she would know exactly what to say. Like that time she reminded Cal about the line. Gillian Foster preferred to prepare her speeches, she liked to be in control, to have figured out how to put her desultory thoughts in consistent and powerful words. In her dream she knew exactly what she would say to her husband, how she would say it, where she would make a pause, allowing the meaning sink in. The Gillian in the library was ready. The real Gillian was not.

The real Gillian was sitting alone in the kitchen with all lights on and a big cup of hot chocolate in her hands. The real Gillian was wearing warm woolen red socks and loose grey pajama pants with a fitting white top. The real Gillian didn't smoke which meant no showy movements. And most importantly the real Gillian had no idea of what she was going to say. She was trying to use the little time she had before his arrival to create some word combinations or idea lines but it just wasn't working. All she could do is glance at her watch occasionally and imagine she was in control.

Suddenly the silence she found so disturbing was rudely broken by the sound of the car driving up to the house, the sound of the car door being shut and the beep of alarm that followed. Gillian missed that silence instantly as she heard footsteps and the front door being open. Gillian knew Alec's sequence perfectly: the coat, the scarf, the shoes, the briefcase, the bathroom, the kitchen. Six more minutes. Six minutes to get second thoughts. Six minutes to find new words. Six minutes she spent with her mind gone blank.

"Night," six minutes later Alec entered the kitchen, "I saw the light, thought I would find you here." he sat down opposite Gillian, waiting for her to say something. That's how every conversation of theirs was lately - one of them would say something trite and the other would try to come up with an answer to it so that it would seem like they were talking.

"Yeah," she really wished she smoked - taking the cigarette to her lips and inhaling the smoke was also a language, and she wouldn't have to use so many words. "I think we need to talk" she said, shuddering inside at how cliche that sounded.

"I suppose we do." Alec reached for a cigarette, lit it and inhaled the smoke, letting it out slowly all the while looking at her intently as if saying: "I've been sleeping in the guest bedroom for over five months, and we haven't had sex for almost a year. It's fucking high time we talked about it."

_"Damn him!" _Gillian hated this. Even now he made her go through this on her own, smoking his stupid cigarette and speaking his mind with gestures but not virtually opening up to her. There was no helping hand to be stretched out for her and Gillian felt like she was walking in the dark, risking to bump into a wall any minute.

Gillian held her cup tighter and decided she could do this. She inhaled deeply and started speaking in a low voice.

"You know, about a month ago we had that case... A building collapsed and buried several construction workers under it." Alec shifted nervously and reached out for her hand.

"Gill, what are you talking about?" he took hold of her hand and pulled it towards him, making her look up. "Let me finish Alec, this is not easy." As was untangling her fingers from his. He nodded and let her hand go, motioning for her to continue.

"So there was this woman - the wife of one of the men. Turned out they were separated for several months and then one night he called her and told her something and she came running back to him. Then Cal found out he was sick. But you know what the funny thing is? I knew it before that, I knew it the minute I heard her story. Because I did the same thing." She looked at him meaningfully and saw surprise running over Alec's features before he frowned and countered:

"Gill, we were never separated!" he opened her mouth to continue when she shook her head.

"But we were," she said looking him in the eye with a sad smile. "After what happened with Sophie we were anything but together. I was broken, Alec. I was broken and the only thing on my mind was her. You couldn't talk about it, when I could think about nothing else. I spent months surviving through it myself, trying to protect you from those emotions I felt, not ever talking about it. In that moment when I desperately needed to be taken care of I took care of you instead. You held me at night and I was doing all in my power not to fall apart in your arms, not to break down and cry and tell you how bad it was."

Alec's face showed genuine sadness and shame. He tried to reach for her hand again: "Gill, I..."

"There was a wall between us, Alec. A wall. It was getting thicker every day because that facade I built for you was not good enough. I couldn't really hide myself, but you helped me. You didn't want to see, you didn't want to know, you didn't want to deal with it."

"I'm sorry." Alec averted her eyes, letting her know she had hit the ball park.

"I was far away from you," she went on as if she didn't hear his words, "I was worlds away from you and I wanted to get back to you, but I couldn't because you didn't want the real me, you preferred to see that image I built for you. I was trapped. And then you started using again. What was it, Alec?"

"It was guilt" he said flatly. "And shame. I... I couldn't be there for you."

"I figured as much," Gillian sighed. "It brought me back. I left all my hurt and anger at you behind and rushed to help you. We became closer than we were in months, we started talking again, I thought we were better, I really thought we would get though that." She smiled ironically, and Alec mistook it for hope:

"We will Gill, we will, I promise you, I'm not using anymore, we will get through this." he smiled hopefully, trying to cover his shame and fear, but Gillian saw right through him and shook her head slowly, tears running down her cheeks as she tried to blink them away.

"No Alec, we won't."

"But why?" he asked anxiously, reaching out to wipe her tears, brushing her cheeks with his fingers. Gillian took hold of his hands and pushed them away softly. It took her a while to get her next words out:

"Because I don't love you anymore."

"What?" Gillian could tell he was taken aback, but she had to do this.

"I don't love you anymore Alec. Not like that. I care for you deeply and I do love you on some level but not like I used to. I don't need you anymore. You taught me not to need you." maybe for the first time in her life Gillian Foster couldn't recognize or understand the mixture of emotions she was experiencing. She sighed in desperation as Alec struggled for words and used that momentary silence to try to explain herself to him.

"There was this guy, he was hitting on me..." Alec's fists clenched:

"What are you saying?" he growled,

"I said no to him, but..." Gillian pretended not to notice her husband's strained posture. "You know what he told me then? He said I had the eyes of a woman so deeply in love with someone, that the mere thought of being with someone else seemed impossible." she tapped her fingers on the table top again and laughed bitterly. "That's when I realized I didn't love you anymore. I was so shocked."

"But you found someone else, didn't you?" Alec asked her angrily, jealousy in his eyes, his possessive instinct playing up.

"What? No Alec, I'm not in love with anyone else, don't you understand? The thought of being with someone else did seem impossible, I really believed I was in love with you. And suddenly I saw I wasn't anymore. I realized the passion was gone. The desire was gone, the playfulness was gone, the closure was gone. Everything was gone but the fact that we were married. It was so scary." the tears came back. "I was so lost and I refused to believe it at first, but it caught up with me." Gillian wiped her cheeks furiously, hating that she couldn't help crying. "We met one girl on a case, she got drunk and cheated on her husband but she loved him so much that she was ready to do anything to prevent him from finding out, she was such a mess. I never cheated on you and I would never do that, but there was another thing I never did." she looked him in the eye. "I never lied to you."

"So you tried that?" Alec smirked bitterly.

"Yes. I didn't tell you about Rodrigo."

Alec lit another cigarette. "The one who was hitting on you?"

"Yes. He is a dancer, he gave me a dancing lesson."

"A dancing lesson? Is that how you call it?" Gillian could see Alec was losing control, but she was also on the verge of... Something.

"Yes, Alec. A dancing lesson. And when I lied to you I didn't feel awful as I thought I would. I felt relieved I wouldn't have to listen to want you are saying this very moment!"

"Well you do have to listen to it now. Are you still seeing that guy?" he looked at her suspiciously, putting his elbows on the table and moving closer to her, his eyes gleaming with anger.

"No Alec, I'm not." Gillian said looking him in the eye, the tension in the room getting thicker. Then Alec leaned back in his chair and eyed her all over.

"Hell, I feel like I don't know you at all" he said defeatedly, traces of anger in his voice.

"Because you don't." she said weakly, knowing the conversation was over. Gillian hadn't really planned on what to do next mainly because she didn't know what would happen but now she had an intense desire to get out of that house. She got up from the table and left the room.

Gillian felt lifeless, as if all her strength was suck out of her. She took a black travel bag and started packing the most necessary things: underwear, pajamas, toothbrush, a couple of formal dresses for work, make up... Suddenly her eyes landed on those black YSL stilettos she had bought a week earlier, the shoes her imaginary confident and strong self was wearing and suddenly she felt better, as if the life was coming back into her body. Gillian reached out for the shoes and put them on, a grin appearing on her face.

_"Well, if I didn't have a chance to make an entrance, I should probably make an exit" _she thought, pulling a short black clingy but elegant dress out of the wardrobe and putting it on. She glanced at herself in the mirror and saw that the tears were still running down her cheeks as if they had their own free will. Gillian smirked and went into the bathroom, washed her face and pulled the waterproof mascara out of the bag.

_"They always say on those TV shows that it's better to apply mascara on wet eyelashes" _she smiled through tears that had started to subside.

Before leaving the room Gillian glanced over herself in the mirror again. Clad in a black dress accompanied by black sexy stilettos she looked hot. Watery eyes, accentuated by unnaturally long eyelashes created a 40's Chicago air about her and a black traveling bag over her shoulder made her look like one of those models in vogue special photo shoots. Gillian thought for a second it was a little stupid dressing up like that considering she was only going to a hotel.

However, the look of a complete and utter shock on Alec's face as he watched her come down the stairs, moving gracefully past him erased any doubt of hers. Before leaving the house, Gillian turned back for the last time, her tearstained eyes landing on him as she said:

"Goodbye, Alec."

Gillian closed the door behind her quietly.

The deafening silence surrounded Alec Foster as if the quiet "click" of the front door was the last thing he would ever hear. The clattering of Gillian's heels, the beep of the car alarm, the sound of the car door being open and shut, the roar of the engine sounded extremely far away. He was left alone in the middle of his house, surrounded by silence, one on one with his own heartbeat, that sounded louder and louder every second.

**Next up: The chapter which elaborates on sacrifice.**


	14. Chapter 14

Author's note: Hi everyone!

I know I didn't behave))) Was really busy and most importantly had no idea how to bring this to an end (and yep, this is the last chapter).

Everyone who read and reviewed the story, please know how much it meant to me and how much joy all your words brought me - SO VERY MUCH!!!)))

Sorry to keep you waiting, hope you forgive me.

So! Congratulations on Premier of Season 2! It's like Christmas for us) So here's my present under the tree.

Please, enjoy this last chapter of the story)

I will miss ya all so much!

A.

* * *

**The chapter which elaborates on sacrifice**

"Hello."

"Hi, Gill, I..."

"I know."

"Listen... I've been thinking about what you said and... I don't know. I don't know how to do this..."

"Alec..."

"It was one bad night... Maybe we could..."

"..."

"You're crying?"

"No... no, I'm fine."

"It's really good to hear your voice."

"Yeah, I'm... I'm glad that you called too."

"I... I don't know how to be without you, Gill."

"Don't... Don't. Look, I'm glad that you called but i just can't do this, ok?"

***

The reason Cal came to her that morning was simple: he needed her support. He was about to do something that was **right **but the exact kind of right that the good guys always neglected. He was going to deliberately conceal the fact that Dupree was missing. He had good reasons too. Ke knew Torres was needed on the case and could do nothing to help find Dupree. He knew she owed it to the people who could die in the next few hours to do her best and he knew she wasn't grown up enough to stay and do her job knowing her boyfriend was unaccounted for. He knew he would have to make the choice for her. However, at the thought of something happening to Emily and someone keeping it from him deliberately, his blood was starting to boil. Cal Lightman was going to do the right thing even though he hated it. He was going to sacrifice his inner feeling of write and wrong and he needed her to stand by him.

It was a hell of a crazy morning, but the sight of Gillian Foster fighting the tears rolling down her cheeks did it for him. He didn't even know what to say and the next thing he knew was that her tears were so damn important.

_"What the hell happened? Was it Alec? Was it him on the phone? How do I help? Gonna kill the bastard." _his head was suddenly full of inconsistent, blurry thoughts that had nothing to do with mass murdering that was going on. He kicked himself mentally for having those thoughts. It was no place for his or her feelings to be taken into consideration. They could help to prevent many deaths and they didn't have the right to let the tiniest bits of attention and focus slip away. That was exactly the sacrifice required: he didn't have the right to care for her tears. She didn't have the right to cry over her personal stuff in the first place. Cal figured she felt the same way, looking at how she faced him, her voice and her posture conveying a simple message: "I'm ok. I'm here to do my job and I will do it well. Or better."

***

"It's so crazy... I mean, i heard 40 people died already, and a bunch of them are my age..."

"Yeah, it is. But everything's gonna be fine."

"No, adults always say that, but I mean... It's not fine!"

"You know what, you're right. But not every day is gonna be like this."

"You know, my mom's been spending all this time with dad... They think I don't know. It's like... they don't even remember how bad it was"

"They'll have to figure it out for themselves. Maybe it will be different."

"You don't believe that. He's so much happier when he's with you."

***

He learned what happened only in the evening when it was all over. Cal felt emotionally and physically drained - it was a really long day. However he still had business he had to take care of - Torres. Cal knew perfectly well she was hating him at that very moment. Torres needed to learn one of the most important lessons of their profession - the sacrifice. That Cal had to take care of. There was another thing - Foster's eyes full of tears that haunted him all through the day no matter how hard he tried to push the image away. That he needed to take care of. Not had to and maybe not even should have. Needed to.

It wasn't so much what she said. It was what she didn't say, but what he heard.

"I'm ok"

_"I'm not ok."_

"Alec and I are separating. I'm moving out."

_"I left him, I'm moving on."_

"You know I can't even picture it. Being on my own."

_"I'm scared and lost. But I did the right thing."_

"I'll be alright. You should go. You should go."

_"You have to take care of Torres. She needs to learn."_

There it was again - the sacrifice. Instead of asking him for support she clearly needed, Foster sent him away because of something he had to do. Because Torres needed to learn the sacrifice. Because it will help to save many lives in future. Because that was the right thing to do. Cal Lightman was going to do the right thing even though he hated it.

He nodded lightly and left her office, not looking back. Not once, for he knew that another look at her sad form would bring him running back to her. And he needed to teach Torres sacrifice.

Cal walked up to the elevator and in the same instant the doors slid open and Rodrigo walked out of it, two Baskin Robins ice-cream bowls in his hands.

"Good evening," Rodrigo smiled politely while Cal stared at him with a slight frown.

_"What the hell is he doing here?"_

"Special delivery?", Cal asked in a low voice, that took all the fun out of the supposed-to-be polite conversation.

Rodrigo smirked arrogantly, one of his lip corners going up slightly, and answered in a heartfelt tone that clearly contradicted his demeanour "yeah, Rocky Road and Pistachio, didn't know which she would like best."

Cal smirked back and just stared at him intensely, being his unnerving self.

After a few seconds of a very uncomfortable silence Rodrigo was the first one to speak up, this time his voice sounded quieter and more sincere, the arrogance gone from his features:

"Thank you for helping Carla out. I know you thought what she did was wrong but you still got her out of it and..."

"And how do you know I didn't want to?" Cal interrupted him, frowning slightly.

"Gillian. Anyway, thank you. I'd better go now." Cal nodded and added, just as Rodrigo was moving past him:

"Praline."

"I'm sorry?"

"Her favourite ice cream. With caramel and sugar-coated nuts."

"It wouldn't help anyway", Cal heard sadness in another man's voice, guessing this wasn't some random visit.

_"She must have called him. He knows. He is here to take care of her."_

Cal watched Rodrigo enter the glass doors and Gillian look up sadly at him. He saw the man asking something and he knew it was one of those useless are-you-ok questions that would get just another yeah-i'm-ok answer from Gillian. His heart fell as he watched her mouth "No" and lean into Rodrigo's arms, dropping her defence down.

_"That should have been me" _ran through his mind. _"She should trust me, should open up to me and let me hold her. That should be me."_

***

"Are you ok?"

"No."

"Why did you call me?"

"Needed a friend"

"Your friend just left. Isn't he a friend?"

"He has somewhere to be."

"He'd rather be here with you. Sent him away, didn't you?"

"Don't want him to see me like this."

"I should have known."

"Known what?"

"That it was him in your eyes that day we were dancing."

"Not true"

"Liar. Rocky Road or Pistachio?"

"How about normal food?"

"So you're not denying it?"

"I'm too weak to argue. Feed me first, then attack me with your wild ideas."

"You got it. Chinese?"

***

_"That should have been me." _Only now, after his talk with Torres Cal realised what that meant.

"It comes with sacrifice, believe me." As he said those words, something inside him exploded, turning his world upside down.

_"That should have been me rushing to her this very morning and asking her what's wrong. That should have been me with her this evening. That should have been me taking her to dinner every night. That should have been me taking her home. That should have been me eating breakfast with her. That should have been me all along."_

Was there a limit to sacrifice? Some line after which sacrifice was too enormous to even make sense? If there was, Cal Lightman knew he was so far beyond that line that if he looked back he could hardly see it.

The main question was: what was the sacrifice for? His own fear? Apprehension? Sensibility? Comfort he didn't want to distort?Feelings of his ex wife? Respect towards marriage? His weakness?

Those were not reasons for a sacrifice, those were justifications for not doing anything, not going after what he wanted, not being ready to fight for it.

The realisation dawned on him as all those things that kept him from making any, even tentative steps, seemed shallow and empty and useless and stupid now. Cal Lightman felt he had sacrificed too much for nothing. And he wouldn't do it anymore.

He reached his own deception point, the point where all the lies he told himself were obvious and unimaginative and plain, completely unappealing. It felt like he was standing in the middle of the labyrinth, but the walls were crumbling around him, revealing the right and only path he should take.

Now Cal Lightman knew what he wanted and needed.

_"That should have been me"_

Her.

* * *

**THANK YOU!!!**

**XXX**

**A.**

**ps. my story "Inconsistency" could be seen as a post "Deception Point". Not too far in the future though, cause we all know Cal is gonna take some action now))**


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